Potential Benefit of Amorphization in the Retention of Gaseous Species in Irradiated Pyrochlores

Abstract

Understanding the structure-property relationship for materials destined for irradiation extremes is a key step in developing materials with reliable, long-term performance. One crucial relationship is the ability of a material to withstand or accommodate amorphization, as this dictates its potential use as a nuclear waste form. Pyrochlores are one such class of materials for consideration as waste forms and there has been significant work examining how both the crystal structure and chemistry impacts amorphization resistance, leading to the important conclusion that the amorphization resistance of pyrochlores (A₂B₂O₇) is very sensitive to the nature of the B cations. For example, pyrochlores with B=Ti amorphize much more readily than B=Zr compounds. However, there are still questions regarding how these types of materials respond to prolonged or high-dose irradiation conditions. In this work, Gd₂Ti₂O₇ (GTO) and Gd₂Zr₂O₇ (GZO) pyrochlores were implanted with 400 keV Kr ions at room temperature to calculated peak damages of 119 and 135 displacements per atom (dpa), respectively. As expected, GTO amorphized completely under irradiation. However, discrete bubbles of Kr coalesced within the amorphous matrix without micro-cracking or spallation. In contrast, GZO transforms to a disordered fluorite structure under irradiation with no indications of localized amorphization. But, the accumulation of Kr within the host material leads to sub-grain structures, extended defects, and the development of micro-cracks. Thus, while GTO readily amorphizes even under low dose irradiations, the resistance of the amorphous GTO matrix to micro cracking and gas release, even in the presence of large bubble formation, suggests an enhanced propensity to retain gaseous species. Consideration of long-term dose accumulation effects in nuclear waste forms would suggest reconsideration of amorphization processes in pyrochlores and related materials as a potential beneficial effect for immobilization and long-term storage of actinide materials.

Keywords: radiation effects, pyrochlore, amorphization, transmission electron microscopy, gas retention