Micro to nanostructural observations in neutron irradiated nuclear graphites PCEA and PCIB

XRD and Raman measurements provided evidence for irradiation induced crystallite fragmentation, with crystallite sizes reduced by 39-55%. Analysis of TEM images was used to quantify fringe length, tortuosity, and relative misorientation of planes, and indicated that neutron irradiation induced basal plane fragmentation and curvature. EELS was used to quantify the proportion of sp2 bonding and specimen density; a slight reduction in planar-sp2 content (due to the buckling basal planes and the introduction of non-six-membered rings) agreed with the observations from TEM.