Atmospheric oxidation of a Nb-Zr alloy studied with XPS

The long term atmospheric oxidation of a Nb-Zr alloy was studied by XPS. Curve fit parameters were defined and strictly constrained to obtain a consistent evaluation of film thickness and chemistry. A formalism was introduced to distinguish between the water, hydroxide and oxide contributions to the surface oxide. Ageing experiments were carried out simultaneously exposing one lot of samples to a laboratory atmosphere for 10 months and a second lot to a dry atmosphere in a desiccator. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.