An in-situ hydrothermal deposition process was developed to apply a thin film of zirconia (ZrO2)
onto structural materials used in Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) as a potential method for mitigating
intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). The coating process has been demonstrated to
successfully deposit ZrO2 onto as received interior surface of 304 stainless steel and Alloy 600 tubing.
This work reports on the application of this coating process to substrates with different surface
conditions including the condition that exists on the surface of the structural material in BWRs. The
coatings on as-received and pre-oxidized surfaces showed excellent adhesion while those on the
polished are usually worse. Tetragonal dominant ZrO2 was found on stainless steel substrates whereas
monoclinic/tetragonal mixed ZrO2 was observed on Alloy 600 substrates. The coating on pre-oxidized
stainless steel did not reveal a reduced electrochemical potential (ECP) similarly to that was found in
our previous study.