Initial corrosion stages of a heavy metal fluoride glass in water

Abstract A 50ZrF 4 –33BaF 2 –10YF 3 –7AlF 3 (mol%) pre-sputtered glass was corroded in H 2 O for durations between 1 and 50 min at 20°C, 40°C, 60°C and 80°C. The profiles of Zr, Ba, Y and Al were measured by secondary neutral mass spectrometry, H was measured by nuclear reaction analysis, whereas O was monitored using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. On the basis of these results it is shown that the corrosion zone approaches a composition near that of the BaZrF 6 phase. Further, a modified corrosion model for the initial stages of the glass attack is proposed, where H 2 O is the initiating species.