Microstructural evolution of zirconium diboride irradiated with 5–10 MeV Au ions at room temperature and 570 °C

@article{loftus_microstructural_2026,
	title = {Microstructural evolution of zirconium diboride irradiated with 5–10 {MeV} {Au} ions at room temperature and 570 °{C}},
	volume = {46},
	issn = {0955-2219},
	url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095522192500723X},
	doi = {10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2025.117902},
	abstract = {Zirconium diboride was irradiated with 5 MeV Au2 + , 7 MeV Au4+ and 10 MeV Au3+ ions at room temperature and 570 °C to doses from 1 to 8 displacements per atom (dpa). Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) analysis revealed no secondary phase formation. Rietveld analysis of the GIXRD data indicated an accumulation of microstrain at low dpa and room temperature. Dislocations observed in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) cross-sections are likely the main contributor to the microstrain. High dpa and high-temperature samples exhibit lower lattice distortion than lower dpa samples, suggesting the presence of enhanced defect recovery at elevated temperatures and dislocation annihilation at higher doses. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) analysis showed no conclusive evidence of void growth at either temperature. These findings provide insights into the microstructural response of ZrB2 to heavy ion irradiation, suggesting stability up to 8 dpa in typical reactor operating conditions.},
	number = {3},
	urldate = {2025-12-02},
	journal = {Journal of the European Ceramic Society},
	author = {Loftus, Narrie and Olivares, José and Crespillo, Miguel and Pérez, Esther Enríquez and Watts, Jeremy and Bohannan, Eric and Hilmas, Gregory and Fahrenholtz, William and Graham, Joseph},
	month = mar,
	year = {2026},
	keywords = {Radiation effects, Ion irradiation, Ultra-high temperature ceramics, Zirconium diboride},
	pages = {117902},
	file = {ScienceDirect Snapshot:E:\Usuarios\Administrator\Zotero\storage\QL5SCIZT\S095522192500723X.html:text/html},
}