Response of simulated An3+ / An4+ radioactive soil vitrification under alpha-particle irradiation

Abstract As it is pivotal to study the self-irradiation of radioactive contaminated soil under alpha-particle in long term storage, the purpose of this paper is to research the irradiation behavior of 10-30 wt.% of Nd2O3 and CeO2 co-doped glass samples under 0.5 MeV He2+ irradiation of high fluences from 1.0 × 1014 to 1.0 × 1017 ions/cm2 at room temperature. The results of GIXRD show that the main phases keep amorphous after irradiation. Surface morphology is still smooth and enrichment phenomenon of all the referred elements exist rarely after irradiation by SEM-EDS. Meanwhile, the results of Vickers hardness value and leaching rate test show slightly change whereas the structure of the glass-samples under alpha-particle irradiation are stable. Therefore, this work can offer detailed information for the radiation tolerance of the materials.