Origin and consequences of silicate glass passivation by surface layers

Stéphane Gin; Patrick Jollivet; Maxime Fournier; Frédéric Angeli; Pierre Frugier; Thibault Charpentier

doi:10.1038/ncomms7360

journal article Open Access Feb 19, 2015

Origin and consequences of silicate glass passivation by surface layers

Stéphane Gin

Patrick Jollivet Maxime Fournier Frédéric Angeli Pierre Frugier Thibault Charpentier

Nature Communications Vol. 6 No. 1 · Springer Science and Business Media LLC

View at Publisher Save 10.1038/ncomms7360

Abstract

AbstractSilicate glasses are durable materials, but are they sufficiently durable to confine highly radioactive wastes for hundreds of thousands years? Addressing this question requires a thorough understanding of the mechanisms underpinning aqueous corrosion of these materials. Here we show that in silica-saturated solution, a model glass of nuclear interest corrodes but at a rate that dramatically drops as a passivating layer forms. Water ingress into the glass, leading to the congruent release of mobile elements (B, Na and Ca), is followed by in situ repolymerization of the silicate network. This material is at equilibrium with pore and bulk solutions, and acts as a molecular sieve with a cutoff below 1 nm. The low corrosion rate resulting from the formation of this stable passivating layer enables the objective of durability to be met, while progress in the fundamental understanding of corrosion unlocks the potential for optimizing the design of nuclear glass-geological disposal.

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Published: Feb 19, 2015
Vol/Issue: 6(1)
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Stéphane Gin, Patrick Jollivet, Maxime Fournier, et al. (2015). Origin and consequences of silicate glass passivation by surface layers. Nature Communications, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7360

Origin and consequences of silicate glass passivation by surface layers

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