Effect of alpha-particles irradiation on the phase evolution and chemical stability of Nd-doped zircon ceramics

Zircon, ZrSiO4, has a structure that can incorporate actinides. Therefore, the susceptibility of the zircon structure to irradiation damage has been investigated by accelerated irradiation experiments. Synthetic Zr1−xNdxSiO4−x/2 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.10) ceramics were irradiated with 0.5 MeV 4He2+ ions (fluences 1 × 1014-1 × 1017 ions/cm2) at room temperature. The irradiation effects on phase structure and chemical stability of the ceramics were investigated. It is found that the main crystal structure is maintained, however, little amorphization is leaded as a result of intensified irradiation. Raman spectra reveal that the main peaks slightly broaden and weakened with increasing fluence, indicating little amorphization has been induced by irradiation. The irradiation resistance is enhanced by the growing neodymium content. Moreover, microtopography and element distribution have no changed even after irradiation. Although the LRNd increases slightly with increasing Nd loading and irradiation, the excellent chemical stability (∼10−4 g m−2 d−1) is maintained.