Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

Crystallographic Changes In Lead Zirconate Titanate Due To Neutron Irradiation, Alexandra Henriques, Joseph T. Graham, Sheldon Landsberger, Jon F. Ihlefeld, Geoff L. Brennecka, Donald W. Brown, Jennifer S. Forrester, Jacob L. Jones

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials are useful as the active element in non-destructive monitoring devices for high-radiation areas. Here, crystallographic structural refinement (i.e., the Rietveld method) is used to quantify the type and extent of structural changes in PbZr_0.5Ti_0.5O₃ after exposure to a 1 MeV equivalent neutron fluence of 1.7x10¹⁵ neutrons/cm². The results showa measurable decrease in the occupancy of Pb and O due to irradiation, with O vacancies in the tetragonal phase being created preferentially on one of the two O sites. The results demonstrate a method by which the …