Amorphisation of boron carbide under gamma irradiation

Boron carbide (B4C) has been widely used in nuclear reactors and nuclear applications. In thiswork, the high-purity (99.9%) B4C samples were irradiated using a gamma source (60Co) with a dose rate (D) of 0.27 Gy/s at different gamma irradiation doses at room temperature. Phase and microstructural characterisation of B4C samples were carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD results displayed some degradation of the diffraction peaks. The calculations reveal that 62% of B4C has changed into the amorphous phase when the irradiation dose is 194.4 kGy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to explain chemical bonds and functional groups ofB4Csamples before and after gammairradiation. The results showed thatC– Cchemical bonds areweaker thanB–Cchemical bonds and tend to break under gammairradiation. Element mapping analysis for each gamma irradiation dose of B4C samples was performed using SEM patterns. The dynamics of the elements on the surface and chemical formula of all B4C samples were also determined after gamma irradiation.

Keywords

Boron carbide, Gamma irradiation, Amorphisation, Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Elemental mapping analysis

Citation

Mirzayev, M. N., Demir, E., Mammadov, K. F., Sukratov, V. A., Jabarov, S. H., Biira, S., ... & Tuğrul, A. B. (2020). Amorphisation of boron carbide under gamma irradiation. Pramana, 94, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12043-020-01980-3

URI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12043-020-01980-3
https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/8364

Collections

Engineering and Technology

Full item page