In order to build the next generation of nuclear reactors,
materials scientists are trying to unlock the secrets of certain materials that
are radiation-damage tolerant. Now researchers at the California Institute of
Technology (Caltech) have brought new understanding to one of those secrets—how
the interfaces between two carefully selected metals can absorb, or heal, radiation
damage.
"When it comes to selecting proper structural materials
for advanced nuclear reactors, it is crucial that we understand radiation
damage and its effects on materials properties. And we need to study these
effects on isolated small-scale features," says Julia R. Greer, an
assistant professor of materials science and mechanics at Caltech. With that in
mind, Greer and colleagues from Caltech, Sandia National Laboratories, UC
Berkeley, and Los Alamos National Laboratory have taken a closer look at
radiation-induced damage, zooming in all the way to the nanoscale—where lengths
are measured in billionths of meters. Their results appear online in the
journals Advanced Functional Materials and Small.