Grazing-incidence synchrotron radiation diffraction studies on irradiated Ce-doped and pristine Y-stabilized ZrO 2 at the Rossendorf beamline

Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, vol. 31, pp. 355–362

Abstract

In this work, Ce-doped yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and pure YSZ phases were subjected to irradiation with 14 MeV Au ions. Irradiation studies were performed to simulate long-term structural and microstructural damage due to self-irradiation in YSZ phases hosting alpha-active radioactive species. It was found that both the Ce-doped YSZ and the YSZ phases had a reasonable tolerance to irradiation at high ion fluences and the bulk crystallinity was well preserved. Nevertheless, local microstrain increased in all compounds under study after irradiation, with the Ce-doped phases being less affected than pure YSZ. Doping with cerium ions increased the microstructural stability of YSZ phases through a possible reduction in the mobility of oxygen atoms, which limits the formation of structural defects. Doping of YSZ with tetravalent actinide elements is expected to have a similar effect. Thus, YSZ phases are promising for the safe long-term storage of radioactive elements. Using synchrotron radiation diffraction, measurements of the thin irradiated layers of the Ce-YSZ and YSZ samples were performed in grazing incidence (GI) mode. A corresponding module for measurements in GI mode was developed at the Rossendorf Beamline and relevant technical details for sample alignment and data collection are also presented.

Authors 10

1. Volodymyr Svitlyk

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf · European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Institute of Resource Ecology, Dresden, Germany

   Rossendorf Beamline (BM20), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France

2. Luíza Braga Ferreira dos Santos

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Institute of Resource Ecology, Dresden, Germany

3. Jonas Nießen Aachen Institute of Mineral Engineering (GHI)

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Mineral Engineering, Aachen, Germany

4. Sara E. Gilson

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Institute of Resource Ecology, Dresden, Germany

5. Julien Marquardt

   Goethe University Frankfurt

   Affiliation as printed

   Goethe-University Frankfurt, Institute of Geosciences, Frankfurt, Germany

6. Stefan Findeisen

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Mechanical Engineering, Dresden, Germany

7. Selina Richter

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Institute of Resource Ecology, Dresden, Germany

8. Shavkat Akhmadaliev

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Ion Beam Center, Dresden, Germany

9. Nina Huittinen

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf · Freie Universität Berlin

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Institute of Resource Ecology, Dresden, Germany

   Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Berlin, Germany

10. Christoph Hennig

    Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf · European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

    Affiliation as printed

    Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Institute of Resource Ecology, Dresden, Germany

    Rossendorf Beamline (BM20), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France