Experimental and theoretical investigation of the damage evolution of irradiated MoAlB and WAlB MAB phases

• Published in: Journal of alloys and compounds Vol. 942; p. 169099
• Main Authors: Zhang, Dongya, Richardson, Peter, Wang, Meng, He, LinPing, Shi, Liqun, Gao, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 05.05.2023
• Subjects: Crystal defects; Irradiation; MAB phase; MoAlB; Radiation shielding; WAlB; WAlB; Irradiation; Radiation shielding; Crystal defects; MAB phase; MoAlB
• ISSN: 0925-8388; 1873-4669
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2023.169099

The MAB phases are an advanced set of ceramic materials, some of which have been recently found to theoretically possess good shielding capacity against both gamma-rays and neutrons with different energies. The radiation tolerance and thermal recovery processes of WAlB were investigated and compared with MoAlB (both type-222 MAB phases) in this work using a combination of experimentation and DFT calculations for the first time. GIXRD and Raman spectroscopy of damaged and annealed specimens for bulk MoAlB and WAlB revealed that they have similar tolerance to radiation-induced amorphization and display similar recrystallization at high temperatures. Defect behavior was assessed and discussed relating to the type of atomic interactions within the crystal structure, as well as defect kinetics. This study suggests that type-222 MAB phase materials are promising radiation shielding materials which should be considered in future nuclear fusion reactor designs. •The radiation tolerance and recovery process of MoAlB and WAlB were investigated using a combination of experiments and DFT calculations for the first time.•Experimental results show that MoAlB has a similar damage evolution to that of WAlB. as well as excellent abilities to recrystallize at high temperatures.•The detailed thermal dynamic behaviors implied that most point defects can be accommodated at a low cost.