Improved High-Temperature Oxidation Resistance of Zirconium Alloy via a Cr Coating on a ZrO 2 Interlayer Deposited by Multi-Arc Ion Plating

Improved High-Temperature Oxidation Resistance of Zirconium Alloy via a Cr Coating on a ZrO 2 Interlayer Deposited by Multi-Arc Ion Plating | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Improved High-Temperature Oxidation Resistance of Zirconium Alloy via a Cr Coating on a ZrO 2 Interlayer Deposited by Multi-Arc Ion Plating Yanhui ZHU, Xiang LIU, Jifu ZHANG, Bojie WANG This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9072094/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The purpose of this study is to develop a long-term protective coating for zirconium alloy nuclear fuel cladding to enhance its safety under high-temperature accident conditions, such as a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). A dense ZrO2 interlayer was first fabricated on the zirconium alloy substrate via an in-situ pre-oxidation method. By optimizing the target current (100, 120, and 150 A) in the multi-arc ion plating process and analyzing the resultant coating roughness, hardness, and microstructure, 100 A was determined to be the optimal parameter for depositing a dense and flat Cr overlayer. Accordingly, a ZrO2/Cr composite coating was constructed. High-temperature oxidation tests at 800-1200 °C demonstrated that the mass gain of the composite coating was significantly lower than that of both the bare zirconium alloy and a single-layer Cr coating. Microscopic analysis revealed that at temperatures of 1000 °C and below, the ZrO2 interlayer effectively blocked Cr/Zr interdiffusion and oxygen inward diffusion, thereby inhibiting the formation of brittle phases and stabilizing the coating structure. At 1200 °C, although interdiffusion was initiated, the coating exhibited only controlled local oxidation, preventing catastrophic failure. In conclusion, the introduction of a ZrO2 interlayer significantly improves the high-temperature oxidation resistance of the Cr coating, providing an effective strategy for developing advanced accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) coatings. nuclear fuel cladding zirconium alloy multi-arc ion plating composite coating high-temperature oxidation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 14 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 21 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 18 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 09 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9072094","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":610997823,"identity":"718f956e-cbe8-4648-8c6d-5d13f3739c62","order_by":0,"name":"Yanhui ZHU","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Foshan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yanhui","middleName":"","lastName":"ZHU","suffix":""},{"id":610997824,"identity":"d532ebf4-113c-409f-9aa8-d7dfa25a2215","order_by":1,"name":"Xiang LIU","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Foshan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiang","middleName":"","lastName":"LIU","suffix":""},{"id":610997825,"identity":"9b6579da-1873-479c-a0d3-ac6a7ea0a952","order_by":2,"name":"Jifu ZHANG","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA30lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxuYDbCCah5+/+cCBDz+I0dKWANYiIznjWOLBmT3EWMMG0WJjcCDH+DAHGxE6mNvYnz34uaOWh+HAmQ+HGXgY5PnFDhByGEO6Ye+Z4zyMzb0bDhdYMBjOnJ1AQMv8hmMSvG3HeJgZzm44PIOHIcHgNiEtbYxtkn+BWtgYch4cBpLEaGFmk+Ztq+HhYchhIFYLG5u0bNsBHgmJYwbAQJYg7BdDYIhJvm2rs7c/3/z4w4cfNvL80oS0NICpwzC+BH7lICAPoeoIqxwFo2AUjIKRCwAJQkX48y9uMgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Foshan University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jifu","middleName":"","lastName":"ZHANG","suffix":""},{"id":610997826,"identity":"7e183636-ec76-49ef-a080-bdea4e974086","order_by":3,"name":"Bojie WANG","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Foshan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bojie","middleName":"","lastName":"WANG","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-09 11:12:15","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9072094/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9072094/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105564557,"identity":"cc12ed4a-a286-4891-bc24-b5f84863f243","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-27 12:50:00","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2393895,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ImprovedHighTemperatureOxidationResistanceofZirconiumAlloyviaaCrCoatingonaZrO2InterlayerDepositedbyMultiArcIonPlating.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9072094/v1_covered_faba89f3-bc82-49a4-84c7-965a2601dec7.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Improved High-Temperature Oxidation Resistance of Zirconium Alloy via a Cr Coating on a ZrO 2 Interlayer Deposited by Multi-Arc Ion Plating","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"high-temperature-corrosion-of-materials","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [High Temperature Corrosion of Materials](https://www.springer.com/journal/11085)","snPcode":"11085","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11085/3","title":"High Temperature Corrosion of Materials","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"nuclear fuel cladding, zirconium alloy, multi-arc ion plating, composite coating, high-temperature oxidation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9072094/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9072094/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The purpose of this study is to develop a long-term protective coating for zirconium alloy nuclear fuel cladding to enhance its safety under high-temperature accident conditions, such as a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). 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