In situ heavy ion irradiation studies of nanopore shrinkage and enhanced radiation tolerance of nanoporous Au

High energy particle radiations induce severe microstructural damage in metallic materials. Nanoporous materials with a giant surface-to-volume ratio may alleviate radiation damage in irradiated metallic materials as free surface are defect sinks. Here we show, by using in situ Kr ion irradiation in a transmission electron microscope at room temperature, that nanoporous Au indeed has significantly improved radiation tolerance comparing with coarse-grained, fully dense Au. In situ studies show that nanopores can absorb and eliminate a large number of radiation-induced defect clusters. Meanwhile, nanopores shrink (self-heal) during radiation, and their shrinkage rate is pore size dependent. Furthermore, the in situ studies show dose-rate-dependent diffusivity of defect clusters. This study sheds light on the design of radiation-tolerant nanoporous metallic materials for advanced nuclear reactor applications.