About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
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| Symposium
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Nanostructured Materials in Extreme Environments IV
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| Presentation Title |
Understanding Phases Produced by Irradiation-Induced Amorphous-to-Crystalline Transformations in Nanostructured Ceramics |
| Author(s) |
Nicole Keninger, Sooyeon Hwang, Cyrus Koroni, Tristan Olsen, Sarah Pooley, Claire Xiong, Janelle Wharry |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Nicole Keninger |
| Abstract Scope |
This talk aims to understand which crystalline polymorphs are generated through athermal irradiation-induced amorphous-to-crystalline (a-to-c) transformations in nanostructured ceramics. While a-to-c transformations have been reported in a wide range of ceramics and under varied irradiation conditions, the crystallites formed are often nanoscopic and metastable, so their crystal structure can be difficult to discern. Here, electron irradiation-induced a-to-c transformations are investigated in nanostructured Al2O3, TiO2, ZrO2, Nb2O5, and Ta2O5 using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Materials most susceptible to a-to-c transformations – Al2O3, TiO2, and ZrO2 – produce crystalline phases having short-range ordering closely aligned with the highest population of short-range ordered structures in the initial amorphous phase. By contrast, crystallites in materials least susceptible to a-to-c transformations, Nb2O5 and Ta2O5, do not exhibit similar short-range ordering as the initial amorphous phase. These results suggest that tailoring amorphous short-range order may allow targeted synthesis of crystal structures with desired properties. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Ceramics, Nuclear Materials, Nanotechnology |