Electron-irradiation-induced phase transformation in alumina

In this study, electron-irradiation-induced phase transformations between alumina polymorphs were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the electron-irradiation-induced α → κ′ phase transformation occurred in the alumina under 100 keV electron irradiation. It is likely that the knock-on collision between incident electrons and Al3+ cations is responsible for the occurrence of electron-irradiation-induced phase transformation from α-alumina to κ′-alumina.