Abstract
The in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with ion-irradiation technique has been used for the first time to study the radiation-induced amorphization (metamictization) process of naturally occurring silicates: neptunite [Na 2KLi(Fe,Mn) 2Ti 2(SiO 3) 8], titanite (CaTiSiO 5), gadolinite (REE 2FeBe 2Si 2O 10), zircon (ZrSiO 4) and olivine [(Mg,Fe) 2SiO 4]. These phases were irradi 1.5 MeV Kr + ions in the Argonne HVEM-Tandem facility at room temperature with the electron diffraction pattern monitored in situ. The critical doses required for amorphization of the electron transparent thickness of neptunite, titanite, gadolinite, zircon and olivine have been determined to be 1.7, 2.0, 2.3, 4.8 and 6.0 × 10 14 ions/cm 2, respectively. The results show a correlation between amorphization dose and the chemical and structural complexity of these five phases. The most complex structure (e.g. neptunite) becomes amorphous at the lowest critical dose. The critical amorphization dose also increases with the increasing melting temperature of the minerals.
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