Self-Assembly Of Solid Nanoclusters In Molybdenum Under Gas Ion Implantation

The self-assembly of defects in materials could create unique physical and chemical properties. In nuclear fuels, the formation of self-assembled fission products mitigates fission-gas-release and swelling. Here we report the formation of a solid nanocluster superlattice in molybdenum, an important constituent in metallic fuels, under krypton gas ion implantation. X-ray absorption near edge structure measurements coupled with density functional theory calculations show that the pressure of krypton nanoclusters in molybdenum is similar to 2 GPa and molecular dynamic simulations reveal that the krypton atoms are solid in the nanoclusters with a krypton-to-vacancy ratio of similar to 0.28 at 300 K. (C) 2020 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.