What core advantages does zirconium have among the four metals?

Zirconium’s most distinctive merit is its extremely low thermal neutron capture cross-section, which avoids interfering with nuclear reaction stability, making it the primary structural material for nuclear reactor fuel cladding. Its natural passivation layer delivers excellent resistance to seawater, chloride ion corrosion and high-temperature water vapor, far superior to carbon steel and regular stainless steel. It also has good ductility and easy plastic forming. However, zirconium reacts violently with oxygen and nitrogen at high temperatures, so all high-temperature processing must be carried out under vacuum or inert gas protection to prevent material embrittlement.