The chemisorption of chlorine on zirconium: Neutral and negative ion thermal desorption spectroscopy

Chloride growth on zirconium is investigated by means of the novel thermal desorption spectroscopy of both neutral and negatively ionized products, and interpreted in terms of a single ionic adsorption model. The monohalide desorption energy decreases from a low-coverage value of 320 kJ to 255 kJ mol −1 at the monolayer level, at which point trihalide growth continues indefinitely, indicative of a corrosion layer. In contrast, the desorption energy for the chloride ion remains essentially independent of coverage, at 293 kJ mol −1