Investigation of the stability of glass-ceramic composites containing CeTi2O6 and CaZrTi2O7 after ion implantation

Abstract

Glass-ceramic composite materials have been investigated for nuclear waste sequestration applications due to their ability to incorporate large amounts of radioactive waste elements. A key property that needs to be understood when developing nuclear waste sequestration materials is how the structure of the material responds to radioactive decay of nuclear waste elements, which can be simulated by high energy ion implantation. Borosilicate glass-ceramic composites containing brannerite-type (CeTi2O6) or zirconolite-type (CaZrTi2O7) oxides were synthesized at different annealing temperatures and investigated after being implanted with high-energy Au ions to mimic radiation induced structural damage. Backscattered electron (BSE) images were collected to investigate the interaction of the brannerite crystallites with the glass matrix before and after implantation and showed that the morphology of the crystallites in the composite materials were not affected by radiation damage. Surface sensitive Ti K-edge glancing angle XANES spectra collected from the implanted composite materials showed that the structures of the CeTi2O6 and CaZrTi2O7 ceramics were damaged as a result of implantation; however, analysis of Si L2,3-edge XANES spectra indicated that the glass matrix was not affected by ion implantation.