| Abstract Scope |
The development of durable materials for radionuclide immobilization has been central to efforts to dispose of nuclear wastes. There still exist, however, large gaps in the understanding of waste form degradation under self-irradiation. Neutron total scattering measurements with pair distribution function analysis can be utilized to uniquely characterize radiation effects in a wide range of wasteform materials. This enables detailed analysis of both cation and anion defect behavior, and short-range order, which is important for the investigation of amorphous materials. Recent results for several oxides demonstrate that radiation effects are more complex than previously thought with distinct processes occurring over different length scales. For example, disordered pyrochlore and spinel are composed of local structural units that maintain atomic order and exist in configurations that are different than the expected average structure. Here we will highlight the importance of short- and medium-range analysis for a comprehensive description of radiation behavior. |