Aqueous Solubility of Zirconia

Abstract

Zirconia (zirconium dioxide) is being considered as a host matrix for the disposal of actinides in a geologic disposal vault, and for lanthanides used as burnable-neutron absorbers in nuclear reactors. These applications require knowledge of the stability of the zirconia in aqueous environments; therefore, a literature review of the aqueous solubility of zirconia was carried out. The literature review was complemented by experiments at Chalk River Laboratories on the dissolution of zirconia in aqueous solutions. The paper will present the results of the literature review and our experiments on the dissolution of zirconia in slightly basic solutions (pH ~ 10.3). The low solubility of zirconia in the solutions investigated here supports the selection of zirconia as the host matrix for the above applications.