Alpha-particle irradiation effects on weberite-type tantalates for nuclear waste forms

IF 2.8 2区工程技术 Q3 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Journal of Nuclear Materials Pub Date : 2025-02-10 DOI:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155694

Chengjie Zhao , Xi Tan , Yue Xia , Min Xu , Qian Liao , Haonan Li , Longcheng Liu , Hiroshi Watabe , Dongyan Yang , Yuhong Li

{"title":"Alpha-particle irradiation effects on weberite-type tantalates for nuclear waste forms","authors":"Chengjie Zhao , Xi Tan , Yue Xia , Min Xu , Qian Liao , Haonan Li , Longcheng Liu , Hiroshi Watabe , Dongyan Yang , Yuhong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155694","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As an important mineral phase for the immobilization of high-level radioactive waste, pyrochlore undergoes a phase transformation into a disordered fluorite structure with strong resistance to amorphization upon irradiation. However, the local atomic arrangement of this disordered fluorite reveals an ordered weberite structure. Investigating the irradiation effects on this weberite local structure can uncover the microscopic mechanisms of amorphization resistance in the disordered fluorite structure at the atomic scale. This work examines the structure and irradiation effects of two weberite-structured oxides Nd3TaO7 and Gd3TaO7. The results show that neither Nd3TaO7 with the Cmcm space group nor Gd3TaO7 with the C2221 space group exhibited phase transformation or amorphization under 500 keV He2+ ion irradiation at a maximum dose of 1 × 1017 ions/cm2 (∼ 0.2 dpa), only showing lattice swelling, with Nd3TaO7 exhibiting a maximum swelling rate of 1.97 % and Gd3TaO7 a maximum swelling rate of 1.33 %. The lower symmetry of the C2221 space group structure in Gd3TaO7 may help reduce the accumulation of radiation-induced strain. Additionally, the relatively smaller cation radius could result in a lower cation-antisite barrier, which enhances the irradiation resistance of Gd3TaO7.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":373,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","volume":"607 ","pages":"Article 155694"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Nuclear Materials","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022311525000893","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

As an important mineral phase for the immobilization of high-level radioactive waste, pyrochlore undergoes a phase transformation into a disordered fluorite structure with strong resistance to amorphization upon irradiation. However, the local atomic arrangement of this disordered fluorite reveals an ordered weberite structure. Investigating the irradiation effects on this weberite local structure can uncover the microscopic mechanisms of amorphization resistance in the disordered fluorite structure at the atomic scale. This work examines the structure and irradiation effects of two weberite-structured oxides Nd₃TaO₇ and Gd₃TaO₇. The results show that neither Nd₃TaO₇ with the Cmcm space group nor Gd₃TaO₇ with the C222₁ space group exhibited phase transformation or amorphization under 500 keV He²⁺ ion irradiation at a maximum dose of 1 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² (∼ 0.2 dpa), only showing lattice swelling, with Nd₃TaO₇ exhibiting a maximum swelling rate of 1.97 % and Gd₃TaO₇ a maximum swelling rate of 1.33 %. The lower symmetry of the C222₁ space group structure in Gd₃TaO₇ may help reduce the accumulation of radiation-induced strain. Additionally, the relatively smaller cation radius could result in a lower cation-antisite barrier, which enhances the irradiation resistance of Gd₃TaO₇.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Nuclear Materials 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

5.70

自引率

25.80%

发文量

601

审稿时长

63 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Nuclear Materials publishes high quality papers in materials research for nuclear applications, primarily fission reactors, fusion reactors, and similar environments including radiation areas of charged particle accelerators. Both original research and critical review papers covering experimental, theoretical, and computational aspects of either fundamental or applied nature are welcome. The breadth of the field is such that a wide range of processes and properties in the field of materials science and engineering is of interest to the readership, spanning atom-scale processes, microstructures, thermodynamics, mechanical properties, physical properties, and corrosion, for example. Topics covered by JNM Fission reactor materials, including fuels, cladding, core structures, pressure vessels, coolant interactions with materials, moderator and control components, fission product behavior. Materials aspects of the entire fuel cycle. Materials aspects of the actinides and their compounds. Performance of nuclear waste materials; materials aspects of the immobilization of wastes. Fusion reactor materials, including first walls, blankets, insulators and magnets. Neutron and charged particle radiation effects in materials, including defects, transmutations, microstructures, phase changes and macroscopic properties. Interaction of plasmas, ion beams, electron beams and electromagnetic radiation with materials relevant to nuclear systems.