Impact of gold ion irradiation on the initial alteration rate of the International Simple Glass

Abstract

This study addresses the impact of 7 MeV Au irradiation on the initial alteration rate of International Simple Glass (ISG), considered as a reference for nuclear glasses. This irradiation scenario simulates the effect of nuclear collisions of the recoil nuclei of α decays. In order to study the very first moments of glass alteration, non-irradiated and Au-ion irradiated ISG glass monoliths were altered in pure water at 90 °C, pH 9 and with a ratio of glass surface area to solution volume of 0.01 cm−1. Glass alteration was monitored by measuring the releases of the glass elements in solution by UV–visible spectrophotometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Under these alteration conditions, the releases of the elements in solution are congruent. The initial alteration rate was found to be (2.0 ± 0.8) times higher for the irradiated glass monoliths than for non-irradiated samples.