Radiation effects in Zr and Hf containing garnets.

Garnets have been considered as host phases for the safe immobilisation of high-level nuclear waste, as they have been shown to accommodate a wide range of elements across three different cation sites, such as Ca, Y, Mn on the a-site, Fe, Al, U, Zr, and Ti on the b-site, and Si, Fe, Al on the c-site. Garnets, due to their ability to have variable composition, make ideal model materials for the examination of radiation damage and recovery in nuclear materials, including as potential waste forms. Kimzeyite, Ca 3 Zr 2 FeAlSiO 12 , has been shown naturally to contain up to 30 wt% Zr, and has previously been examined to elucidate both the structure and ordering within the lattice. This study examines the effects of radiation damage and recovery using in-situ ion beam irradiation with 1 MeV Kr ions at the IVEM-TANDEM facility, Argonne National Laboratory. The complementary Hf containing system Ca 3 Hf 2 FeAlSiO 12 was also examined, and found to have a different response to irradiation damage. A sample of irradiated Ca 3 Zr 2 FeAlSiO 12 , at 1000 K, was characterised using aberration corrected (S)TEM and found to contain discreet, nano-sized, crystalline Fe rich particles, indicating a competing process during recovery is occurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]