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Radiation stability of gadolinium zirconate: A waste form for plutonium disposition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

S. X. Wang ,
B. D. Begg ,
L. M. Wang ,
R. C. Ewing ,
W. J. Weber  and
K. V. Govidan Kutty
S. X. Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
B. D. Begg
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352
L. M. Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
R. C. Ewing
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
W. J. Weber
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352
K. V. Govidan Kutty
Affiliation:
Materials Chemistry Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 60312, India
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Abstract

Zirconate and titanate pyrochlores were subjected to 1 MeV of Kr+ irradiation. Pyrochlores in the Gd2(ZrxTi1-x)2O7 system (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) showed a systematic change in the susceptibility to radiation-induced amorphization with increasing Zr content. Gd2Ti2O7 amorphized at relatively low dose (0.2 displacement per atom at room temperature), and the critical temperature for amorphization was 1100 K. With increasing zirconium content, the pyrochlores became increasingly radiation resistant, as demonstrated by the increasing dose and decreasing critical temperature for amorphization. Pyrochlores highly-enriched in Zr (Gd2Zr2O7, Gd2Zr1.8Mg0.2O6.8, Gd1.9Sr0.1Zr1.9Mg0.1O6.85, and Gd1.9Sr0.1Zr1.8Mg0.2O6.75) could not be amorphized, even at temperature as low as 25 K.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 14 , Issue 12 , December 1999 , pp. 4470 - 4473
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

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