Effect of helium irradiation on Ti3AlC2 at 500 °C

We report herein, for the first time, the effects of high-fluence (2 × 1017 ions cm−2; 14 at.%) helium irradiation of polycrystalline Ti3AlC2 samples at 500 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that, despite swelling along the c-axis and shrinkage along the a-axis, the basic building blocks, viz. the Ti3C2 layers, remained intact after irradiation. The XRD results also suggest that He implantation disorders the Al layers. Despite the high dose at 500 °C, He bubbles are present and are less than 1 nm in diameter. This is an important finding if this material is to be used in light water or other fission reactors in the future.