Neutron irradiation and high temperature effects on amorphous Fe-based nano-coatings on steel – A macroscopic assessment

Abstract The study revealed that loss of ductility in an amorphous Fe-alloy coating on a steel substrate composite structure was essentially prevented from occurring, following radiation with modest neutron doses of ∼2 × 10 18  n/cm 2 . At the higher neutron dose of ∼2 × 10 19 , macroscopic stress-strain analysis showed that the amorphous Fe-alloy nanostructured coating, while still amorphous, experienced radiation-induced embrittlement, no longer offering protection against ductility loss in the coating-substrate composite structure. Neutron irradiation in a corrosive environment revealed exemplary oxidation/corrosion resistance of the amorphous Fe-alloy coating, which is attributed to the formation of the Fe 2 B phase in the coating. To establish the impact of elevated temperatures on the amorphous-to-crystalline transition in the amorphous Fe-alloy, electron microscopy was carried out which confirmed the radiation-induced suppression of crystallization in the amorphous Fe-alloy nanostructured coating.