Effect of Proton Irradiation on Zr/Nb Nanoscale Multilayer Structure and Properties

Abstract

The effect of proton irradiation on the structure, phase composition, defect state and nanohardness of Zr/Nb nanoscale multilayer coatings was investigated. Preservation of the Zr/Nb layered structure with 50 and 100 nm thick layers, was observed after irradiation with protons at 1720 keV energy and 3.4 × 1015, 8.6 × 1015 and 3.4 × 1016 ions/cm2 fluences, and the interfaces remained incoherent. In the Zr/Nb nanoscale multilayer coatings with individual layer thicknesses of 10 and 25 nm, there were insignificant fluctuations in interplanar distance, which were influenced by changes in irradiation fluence, and the interfaces were partially destroyed and became semicoherent. Changing irradiation fluence in the investigated ranges led to a decrease in the nanohardness of the Zr/Nb nanoscale multilayer coatings with individual layer thicknesses of 10–50 nm. Variable-energy positron Doppler broadening analysis revealed that these changes are primarily caused by peculiarities of the localization and accumulation of the embedded ions and do not cause a significant increase in the S-parameters of Zr/Nb nanoscale multilayer coatings with a layer thickness less than 100 nm.

Hydrogen-Induced Microstructure Changes in Zr/Nb Nanoscale Multilayer Structures

“…The total thickness of the coating for each sample was 1.1 ± 0.2 µm. The structure of NMCs with different thicknesses of individual layers obtained by this method under the conditions mentioned above is described in detail in works [14,15].…”

“…The coating becomes more ductile and less brittle due to the buildup of hydrogen-vacancy complexes, which decreases its hardness. These findings suggest that nanoscale multilayer coatings of Zr/Nb are a possible hydrogen-tolerant material [14,15]. Further investigation into microstructural changes following hydrogen induction is crucial for enhancing the coating production process and material attributes.…”