Migration Mechanism of Oxygen in Uranium Dioxide Doped with Zirconium

Oxygen vacancy and interstitial diffusion mechanisms in uranium dioxide doped with zirconium are investigated by the density functional theory calculations. The migration pathways and barriers are identified using the climbing-image nudge elastic band (CI-NEB) method. It is found that the vacancy migration barrier along the <100> direction decreases by about 0.40 eV, while the indirect interstitial migration barrier decreases by about 0.07 eV in the zirconium doped uranium dioxide. The oxygen vacancy migration barrier is far lower than the oxygen interstitial migration barrier in the uranium dioxide doped with zirconium. Based on the analysis of bond length of local structures during the migration of oxygen atoms, it is concluded that the lattice distortion may be responsible for the reduction of oxygen migration barrier.