Transmission Electron Microscopy Study of α-Decay Damage in Aeschynite and Britholite

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe aeschynite structure-type (Ce,Nd,La,Th,U,Ca)(Nb,Ti)2O6, and the rare-earth silicate apatite structure-type with the formula (Ce,La,Nd,Ca,Th)10(SiO4,PO4)6(O,F,OH)2 are important rare-earth and actinide host phases for high-level nuclear waste. Natural phases of these structure-types have calculated alpha-decay doses up to ∼1017 α-events/mg which have accumulated over hundreds of millions of years. Transmission electron microscopy has been used to study the microstructure of α-decay damage in aeschynite and britholite. Electron diffraction analysis of natural aeschynite revealed that minerals originally crystalline gradually lost their crystallinity with increasing alpha-decay doses. Helium bubbles were found in the aeschynite which have accumulated up to ∼2×1016 α-events/mg. These bubbles may nucleate within collision cascades during a-decay damage. Electron irradiation has an enhanced rare-gas migration and the formation of larger bubbles. High-resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed that amorphization during accumulation of a-decay damage was from alpha-recoil nuclei collision cascades, in both the aeschynite and britholite.