Influence of ion‐induced lattice stress and phase transition on the irradiation resistance of high‐entropy ceramics.

The influence of ion irradiation on intrinsic lattice stress and phase transition is closely related to the irradiation resistance of high‐entropy ceramics. In this study, the ion‐induced response of high‐entropy‐stabilized o‐(ZrHfTiSn)O2 ceramic was investigated under Au2+ irradiation with different fluences. The results revealed that high‐fluence irradiation caused the minimal (orthorhombic‐to‐triclinic) phase transformation underneath the ion‐induced amorphous layer via. fast fourier transformation (FFT) pattern. The cation recombination led to cation rearrangement followed by the increase of lattice expansion induced stress. The lattice stability of residual crystal grains in the mixed layer was significantly improved after lattice rearrangement. This was evidenced by the fact that the X‐ray diffraction profile of the lattice remained unchanged, whereas the selected area electron diffraction (SAED) image exhibited drastic variations with the increase of irradiation fluence. Therefore, irradiation‐induced lattice rearrangement seems to be a reliable way to improve radiation resistance of high‐entropy ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]