Small quantities of zinc (10 ppb) added to the water that cools the nuclear fuel and transports
heat from the fission reaction to a heat exchanger significantly decrease the corrosion rate of
the piping, which is made of a nickel-chromium alloy, Alloy 600. In her PhD research, Yifan Jiang
used a combination of electrochemical tests (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) and
scanning and transmission electron microscopy to explain zinc’s effect.

The mechanism by which small quantities of zinc (10 ppb) lower the corrosion rate of piping
that

Aqueous zinc ions were known to lower the corrosion rate of All
In her PhD research, Yifan Jiang used a combination of electrochemical tests (electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy) and scanning and transmission electron microscopy to explain how
zinc is able to significantly lower the corrosion rate of.

In her PhD research, Yifan Jiang was able to explain how zinc significantly reduces the interior
corrosion of PWRs.

In her PhD research, Yifan Jiang discovered how zinc significantly reduces the corrosion of
pressurized water nuclear reactors (PWRs), which form the majority of the fleet of nuclear
reactors that generate 19% of the United States’ electric power. Small amounts of zinc (10 ppb)
are added to the water that cools the nuclear fuel and transports heat from the fission reaction
to a heat exchanger. The cooling water flows through an extensive network of pipes made of
Alloy 600 (15 Cr, 8 Fe, bal. Ni). Alloy 600’s generally good resistance to corrosion is due to a thin
protective surface film of chromium-rich oxide. However, electron microscopy revealed that
with zinc a dense, zinc-rich oxide layer forms over the inner layer of chromium oxide.
Electrochemical tests showed that the zinc layer enhanced corrosion resistance by blocking the
release of nickel ions into the water. The paper was co-authored by Yifan Jiang, Karen C. Bustillo
and Thomas M. Devine. Dr. Bustillo obtained her PhD from MSE UCB and is a member of the
National Center for Electron Microscopy, Molecular Foundry, LBNL.