Aligned Elongation of Ag Nanoparticles Embedded in Silica Irradiated with High Energy Ni Ions

Metallic nanoparticle(NP) shapes have a significant influence on the property of composite embedded with metallic NPs. Swift heavy ion irradiation is an effective way to modify shapes of metallic NPs embedded in an amorphous matrix. We investigate the shape deformation of AgNPs with irradiation fluence, and 357 MeV Ni ions are used to irradiate the silica containing AgNPs, which are prepared by ion implantation and vacuum annealing. The UV-vis results show that the surface plasmon resonance(SPR) peak from AgNPs shifts from 400 to 377 nm. The SPR peak has a significant shift at fluence lower than 1 × 10~(14) ions/cm2 and shows less shift at fluence higher than 1 × 10~(14) ions/cm~2. The TEM results reveal that the shapes of AgNPs also show significant deformation at fluence lower than 1 × 10~(14) ions/cm~2 and show less deformation at fluence higher than1 × 10~(14) ions/cm~2. The blue shift of the SPR peak is considered to be the consequence of defect production and AgNP shape deformation. Based on the thermal spike model calculation, the temperature of the silica surrounding Ag particles first increases rapidly, then the region of AgNPs close to the interface of Ag/silica is gradually heated. Therefore, the driven force of AgNPs deformation is considered as the volume expansion of the first heated silica layer surrounding AgNPs.     

Hardening of an ODS Ferritic Steel after Helium Implantation and Thermal Annealing

Specimens of an oxide dispersion strengthened(ODS) ferritic steel(15 Cr-4 Al-0.6 Zr-0.1 Ti) are implanted with multiple-energy He ions at room temperature to create a damage plateau of 0.4 dpa for the average(corresponding to an He concentration of about 7000 appm) from the near surface to a depth about 1 um. The specimen is subsequently thermally annealed at 800°C for 1 h in a vacuum so that simple defects can be formed in the as-implanted state that has undergone significant recombination, meanwhile helium bubbles at nano-scale are formed. Hardness of the specimens are tested with the nano-indentation technique. A hardening by 25% is observed. Microstructures of the specimen after irradiation/annealing are investigated with transmission electron microscopy. Helium bubbles are generally located at dislocations and grain boundaries. Using the dispersed barrier strength model, the strength factor of helium bubbles in the ODS ferritic steel is estimated to be between0.1 and 0.26, which is close to that of helium bubbles in austenitic steels.