Cation field‐strength effects on ion irradiation‐induced mechanical property changes of borosilicate glass structures
Peng Lv, Zhao Sun, Fugang Wang, Yu Yang, Fan Yang, Shengjun Yue, Mattias Edén, Liang Chen, Tieshan Wang
Abstract
Abstract We examine the impact of the glass network‐modifier cation field strength (CFS) on ion irradiation‐induced mechanical property changes in borosilicate (BS) glasses for the ternary M 2 O–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 systems with M = {Na, K, Rb} and the quaternary [0.5 M (2) O–0.5Na 2 O]–B 2 O 3 –SiO 2 systems with M = {Li, Na, K, Rb Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba}. 11 B nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments on the as‐prepared BS glasses yielded the fractional population of four‐coordinated B species (B [4] ) out of all {B [3] , B [4] } groups in the glass network, along with the fraction of B [4] –O–Si linkages out of all B [4] –O–Si/B bonds. Both parameters correlated linearly with the (average) CFS of the M + and/or { M (2)+ , Na + } cations. Both the nanoindentation‐derived hardness and Young's modulus values of the glasses reduced upon their irradiation by Si 2+ ions, with the property deterioration decreasing linearly with increasing M z + CFS, that is, for higher M z + ⋅⋅⋅O interaction strength. The irradiation damage of the glass network also increased linearly with the fraction of B [4] –O–Si linkages, which are the second weakest in the structure after the M z + ⋅⋅⋅O bonds. Our results underscore the advantages of employing BS glasses with high‐CFS cations for enhancing the radiation resistance for nuclear waste storage.