Deuterium interactions with ion-implanted oxygen in Cu and Au

This paper reports the interactions of deuterium (D) with oxygen in Cu and Au examined using ion implantation, nuclear-reaction analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. In Cu, the reduction of Cu2O precipitates by D to produce D20 was shown to occur readily down to room temperature, at a rate limited by the transport of D to the oxides. The reverse process of D20 dissociation was characterized for the first time below the temperature range of steam blistering. The evolution of the Cu(D)-Cu2O-D20 system is shown to be predicted by a newly extended transport formalism encompassing phase changes, trapping, diffusion, and surface release. In Au, buried O sinks were used to measure the permeability of D at 573 and 373 K, thereby extending the range of measured permeabilities downward by about six orders or magnitude