Irradiation response and stability of nanoporous materials

Nanoporous materials consist of a regular organic or inorganic framework supporting a regular, porous structure. Pores are by definition roughly in the nanometre range, that is between 0.2 nm and 100 nm. Nanoporous materials can be subdivided into 3 categories (IUPAC): (1) Microporous materials - 0.2-2 nm; (2) Mesoporous materials - 2-50 nm; and (3) Macroporous materials - 50-1000 nm. np-Au foams were successfully synthesized by de-alloying process. np-Au foams remain porous structure after Ne ion irradiation to 1 dpa. Stacking Fault Tetrahedra (SFTs) were observed in RT irradiated np-Au foams under the highest and intermediate fluxes, but not under the lowest flux. SFTs were not observed in LNT irradiated np-Au foams under all fluxes. The vacancy diffusivity in Au at RT is high enough so that the vacancies have enough time to agglomerate and then collapse to form SFTs. The high ion flux creates more damage per unit time; vacancies don't have enough time to diffuse or recombine. As a result, SFTs were formed at high ion fluxes.