Effect of grain size and microstructure on radiation stability of CeO2: an extensive study

Abstract

To investigate the variation in the radiation stability of ceria with microstructure under the electronic excitation regime, ceria samples sintered under different conditions were irradiated with high energy 100 MeV Ag ions. The ceria nanopowders were synthesized and sintered at 800 °C (S800), 1000 °C (S1000) and 1300 °C (S1300), respectively. The samples with widely varying grain size, densities and microstructure were obtained. The pristine and irradiated samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). None of the samples amorphized up to the highest fluence of 1 × 10¹⁴ ions per cm² employed in this study. XRD and Raman studies showed that the sample with lowest grain size suffered maximum damage while the sample with largest grain size was most stable and showed little change in crystallinity. Raman spectroscopy indicated the enhanced formation of Ce³⁺ and related defects in the sample with larger grain size after irradiation. The most intriguing result was the absence of Ce³⁺-related defects in the sample with lowest grain size which actually showed maximum damage upon irradiation. The XPS studies on S800 and S1300 provided concrete evidence for the presence of Ce³⁺ and oxygen ion vacancies in S1300. The grain boundaries and grain size dependent stability have been discussed.