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Advances in Radiation-Induced Nanostructuration of Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Materials Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 8160

Special Issue Editor

CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Interests: transmission electron microscopy (TEM); nanostructured materials; nanostructure stability; irradiation; extreme environments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

By definition, a nanostructure is an object that has at least one dimension that is smaller than 100nm. A bulk material is qualified as nanostructured when it contains structural elements, such as crystallites, particles, or clusters, with a characteristic size of a few nanometers. These nanostructured materials are increasingly required in applications including electronics, photonics or extreme environments, since nanostructures confer unique properties to the materials. Nanometer-sized microstructures can be achieved through both equilibrium and non-equilibrium processes, including irradiation and ion beam modification.   

Irradiation is a non-equilibrium process where point defects, such as vacancies and self-interstitials, are created in high concentrations owing to atom displacement caused by collision cascades. These point defects are responsible for the nanostructuration of the irradiated materials through different processes. First, these defects are mobile and travel to sinks, resulting in the enhancement of thermal kinetics and the segregation of atoms that have a preferential association with the defect flux. These diffusion processes coupled with ballistic ejection can cause microstructure refinement by reducing the size of pre-existing precipitates and grains, or by triggering the nucleation of nanophases. Second, the condensation of vacancies and interstitials produces a wide variety of 2D and 3D nanodefects, namely, defect clusters, dislocation loops, voids and bubbles, which could modify the mechanical and electronic properties of the irradiated material. Finally, nanostructuration under irradiation is also achieved through the ability of the previously mentioned nanostructures to self-assemble in well-organized, two- or three-dimensional periodic arrangements with nanometer-sized wavelengths.

Understanding the nanostructuration of materials under irradiation constitutes a challenging issue that has the potential to greatly expand the use of nanostructured materials in a variety of fields—from electronic devices to applications with extreme environments. 

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the advances in the latest developments and understanding of the relationship between irradiation and nanostructure from both theoretical and experimental points of view.

Articles including full papers, communications, and reviews are welcome contributions. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Nanostructure stability;
  • Ion beam modification;
  • Radiation-induced nanophase;
  • Phase decomposition;
  • Radiation-induced segregation;
  • Clustering: formation of 2D and 3D defects;
  • Self-organization of nanostructure.

Dr. Joël Ribis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • irradiation
  • ion beam modification
  • 2D and 3D defects
  • nanoprecipitation
  • nanophase
  • phase decomposition
  • grain stability
  • self-organization
  • extreme environments
  • electronics and photonics

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 7517 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Nano-Oxide Precipitates by Implantation of Ti, Y and O Ions in Fe-10%Cr: Towards an Understanding of Precipitation in Oxide Dispersion-Strengthened (ODS) Steels
by Stéphanie Jublot-Leclerc, Martin Owusu-Mensah, Vladimir A. Borodin, Joël Ribis, Ludovic Largeau, Ryan Schoell, Djamel Kaoumi, Marion Descoins, Dominique Mangelinck and Aurélie Gentils
Materials 2022, 15(14), 4857; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15144857 - 12 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4406
Abstract
The properties of oxide dispersion-strengthened steels are highly dependent on the nature and size distribution of their constituting nano-oxide precipitates. A fine control of the processes of synthesis would enable the optimization of pertinent properties for use in various energy systems. This control, [...] Read more.
The properties of oxide dispersion-strengthened steels are highly dependent on the nature and size distribution of their constituting nano-oxide precipitates. A fine control of the processes of synthesis would enable the optimization of pertinent properties for use in various energy systems. This control, however, requires knowledge of the precise mechanisms of nucleation and growth of the nanoprecipitates, which are still a matter of debate. In the present study, nano-oxide precipitates were produced via the implantation of Y, Ti, and O ions in two different sequential orders in an Fe-10%Cr matrix that was subsequently thermally annealed. The results show that the oxides that precipitate are not necessarily favoured thermodynamically, but rather result from complex kinetics aspects related to the interaction between the implanted elements and induced defects. When Y is implanted first, the formation of nanoprecipitates with characteristics similar to those in conventionally produced ODS steels, especially with a core/shell structure, is evidenced. In contrast, when implantation starts with Ti, the precipitation of yttria during subsequent high-temperature annealing is totally suppressed, and corundum Cr2O3 precipitates instead. Moreover, the systematic involvement of {110} matrix planes in orientation relationships with the precipitates, independently of the precipitate nature, suggests matrix restriction effects on the early stages of precipitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Radiation-Induced Nanostructuration of Materials)
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14 pages, 3761 KiB  
Article
Radiation-Induced Sharpening in Cr-Coated Zirconium Alloy
by Joël Ribis, Alexia Wu, Raphaëlle Guillou, Jean-Christophe Brachet, Cédric Baumier, Aurélie Gentils and Marie Loyer-Prost
Materials 2022, 15(6), 2322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15062322 - 21 Mar 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1898
Abstract
To improve the safety of nuclear power plants, a Cr protective layer is deposited on zirconium alloys to enhance oxidation resistance of the nuclear fuel cladding during both in-service and hypothetical accidental transients at High Temperature (HT) in Light Water Reactors. The formation [...] Read more.
To improve the safety of nuclear power plants, a Cr protective layer is deposited on zirconium alloys to enhance oxidation resistance of the nuclear fuel cladding during both in-service and hypothetical accidental transients at High Temperature (HT) in Light Water Reactors. The formation of the Cr2O3 film on the coating surface considerably helps in reducing the oxidation kinetics of the zirconium alloy, especially during hypothetic Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). However, if the Cr coating is successful to increase the oxidation resistance at HT of the zirconium substrate, for in-service conditions, under neutron irradiation, Cr desquamation has to be avoided to guarantee a safe use of the Cr-coated zirconium alloys. Therefore, the adhesion properties have to be maintained despite the structural defects created by sustained neutron irradiation in the reactor environment. This paper proposes to study the behavior of the Zircaloy-Cr interface of a first generation Cr-coated material during a specific in situ ion irradiation. As deposited, the Cr-coated sample presents a f.c.c. C15 Laves-type intermetallic phase at the interface with off-stoichiometric composition. After irradiation and for the specific conditions applied, this interfacial phase has significantly dissolved. Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy revealed that the dissolution was accompanied by a counterintuitive “sharpening” effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Radiation-Induced Nanostructuration of Materials)
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Review

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16 pages, 791 KiB  
Review
Radiation-Induced Patterning at the Nanometric Scale: A Phase Field Approach
by David Simeone, Philippe Garcia and Laurence Luneville
Materials 2022, 15(9), 2991; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15092991 - 20 Apr 2022
Viewed by 1345
Abstract
The phase field approach was developed in the last 20 years to handle radiation damage in materials. This approach bridges the gap between atomistic simulations extensively used to model first step of radiation damage at short time and continuum approach at large time. [...] Read more.
The phase field approach was developed in the last 20 years to handle radiation damage in materials. This approach bridges the gap between atomistic simulations extensively used to model first step of radiation damage at short time and continuum approach at large time. The main advantage of such an approach lies in its ability to compute not only the microstructure at the nanometric scale but also to calculate generalized susceptibilities such as elastic constants under irradiation. After a brief description of the rate theory, used to model the microstructure induced by irradiation, we briefly discuss the foundation of the phase field method, highlighting not only its advantages, but also its limitations in comparison with the rate theory. We conclude this presentation by proposing future orientations for computing the microstructure in irradiated materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Radiation-Induced Nanostructuration of Materials)
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