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Fundamental Understanding of Transport Under Reactor Extremes (FUTURE)

Advancing Knowledge of Material Behavior Under Nuclear Reactor Extremes

FUTURE, an Energy Frontier Research Center, investigates how radiation, corrosion, and extreme stresses impact material properties in nuclear reactors.

The Fundamental Understanding of Transport Under Reactor Extremes (FUTURE) is an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Science. FUTURE focuses on understanding how materials respond to the intense conditions within nuclear reactors, such as radiation damage, corrosive environments, high stress, and extreme temperatures. During irradiation, energetic particles create high concentrations of defects, altering the atomic transport processes that drive corrosion and material degradation. These mechanisms of atomic movement vary with local stresses and temperature, leading to changes in material properties over time. FUTURE’s goal is to unravel the complex interactions among these factors to better predict and improve material performance in reactor environments.

FUTURE's renewal

In 2022, the Office of Basic Energy Science announced that the FUTURE Energy Frontier Research Center would be renewed for another four years. FUTURE 2.0 will build upon the research conducted in FUTURE 1.0, with a focus on how a material’s heterogeneities regulate the fundamental mechanisms that dictate a material’s response during coupled irradiation and corrosion.

FUTURE 2.0 will bring together researchers from FUTURE 1.0 from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Bowling Green State University, North Carolina State University, and the University of Virginia. The renewal will also support the addition of a new partner at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Learn about FUTURE's role in nuclear energy

Watch LANL scientists Chris Stanek and Blas Uberuaga discuss the importance of nuclear energy as part of the nation's energy portfolio and FUTURE's role in understanding materials for nuclear energy systems.

Research

FUTURE is organized into three Thrusts that target the fundamental behavior of materials under the coupled extremes of irradiation and corrosion.

Future Thrusts

Thrusts

Future Thrust1

Materials often include multiple alloying elements, introduced to enhance properties such as corrosion resistance, mechanical strength, and radiation tolerance.

When created, these elements are often distributed uniformly across the material, but both irradiation and corrosion can move those elements around, causing them to concentrate in some regions or deplete in others. Not only does this change the properties of the material, but it can significantly modify how defects migrate through the crystal. Some regions become more favorable for the defect, acting as traps, while others might be less favorable and become barriers for motion. 

In Thrust 1, we study how these compositional heterogeneities evolve with irradiation and/or corrosion and how that changing chemical distribution impacts the mechanisms that ultimately govern the evolution of irradiation and corrosion.

Future Thrust2

Materials used in real engineering applications often consist of multiple crystalline phases. The different phases may be of a different chemistry, a different crystalline structure, or both. The addition of more than one phase can provide the material enhanced mechanical properties and has been explored as a way to improve radiation tolerance. At the same time, both irradiation and corrosion can induce the formation of new phases in a material. As one everyday example, rust is nothing more than the formation of an oxide phase on top of the base iron metal. The formation of these phases alters the properties, typically degrading performance. Further, they can impact how defects flow through the material. One of our hypotheses is that the phases and their interfaces can act as sinks for defects, places where defects naturally accumulate. Understanding how these phases form and how their presence impacts defect transport is a key question we are studying.

In Thrust 2, we study multiphase materials with the goal of determining how the phase structure and the associated interfaces impact defect transport through the material. This, in turn, modifies how irradiation and corrosion both evolve. 

Future Thrust3

In an ideal world, materials are described by their crystal structure in which a pattern of atoms is repeated forever. However, in reality, there are many imperfections in the materials that are critically important in describing their properties. One example is grain boundaries. As we assemble crystallites of a material together, they don't always join perfectly and the interfaces between misaligned grains - regions where the atoms don't match up perfectly - are grain boundaries. These grain boundaries and other types of structural imperfections can alter the properties of the material, some times for the better by, for example, promoting enhanced radiation tolerance. They are also often fast pathways for atomic transport, which is important for determining how both irradiation and corrosion evolve in a material.

In Thrust 3, we are examining how such structural imperfections - structural heterogeneities - impact defect and atomic transport and thus change how damage and corrosion evolve. Damage introduces a large number of non-equilibrium point defects that can migrate along these 'super-highways' in the material and thus alter how fast corrosion occurs. Our goal is to understand this coupling and thus how imperfections such as grain boundaries interact with the evolving irradiation and corrosion in the material.

FUTURE 1.0 was organized into four Thrusts that target the fundamental behavior of materials under the coupled extremes of irradiation and corrosion.

Thrust 1: Point Defects

Context: During irradiation, energetic particles smashing into materials create a high concentration of non-equilibrium point defects, defects that wouldn't be there if there was no irradiation. These defects are all-important for driving the motion of atoms through the material, leading to changes in the chemical make-up and distribution of the material and the rates and mechanisms of corrosion. It is thus imperative to understand the nature of these defects.

Motivating Scientific Question: How do coupled extremes affect defect populations and kinetics?

Approach: FUTURE will use in situ transmission electron microscopy to look at materials as they are irradiated in the microscope. While this technique is blind to the very smallest defects, it can reveal the nature of larger defects -- dislocation loops and cavities -- that provide invaluable insight into how those smallest defects evolve. To address the smallest defects, FUTURE will pioneer the use of in situ positron annihilation spectroscopy to directly quantify the populations of point defects in the material as it is being irradiated, revealing the nature of those defects. This will not only provide unprecedented insight into what defects are produced during irradiation, but also serve as critical benchmark for the validation of computational models.

Thrust Lead: Farida Selim of Bowling Green State University.

Thrust 2: Coupled Transport

Context: The defects produced via irradiation move through the material and, as a consequence, move the atoms in the material. Further, these defects and atoms interact with the microstructure -- grain boundaries and dislocations. This can cause significant changes in the elemental composition of the material that will impact how the material interacts with a corrosive environment. To understand how corrosion is impact by irradiation, we must first understand how the chemical make-up of the material changes with irradiation.

Motivating Scientific Question: How is species transport impacted by non-equilibrium defect populations?

Approach: FUTURE will utilize the cutting edge in strain mapping and four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy to examine materials exposed to a combination of corrosive and irradiation environments. FUTURE will advance the use of isotopes to understand detailed transport mechanisms in materials. Coupled with atom probe tomography, the use of isotopes will allow us to examine how transport differs in different parts of the material, for example at grain boundaries. By examining corrosive behavior before and after irradiation, we will elucidate the means by which irradiation impacts corrosion.

Thrust Leads: Daniel Schreiber and Sandra Taylor of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Thrust 3: Interfacial Transport/Reaction

Context: Corrosion is inherently a surface phenomenon, in which a corrosive medium (in the case of FUTURE, liquid environments) comes in contact with a material. Think rust. The rates of corrosion are thus significantly impacted by surface processes, which in turn are governed by defects. Irradiation naturally and dramatically changes the defect content of a material. To understand how corrosion couples with irradiation, we must also understand how irradiation changes the reactions occurring at interfaces.

Motivating Scientific Question: How do coupled extremes affect transport and reactions at solid/liquid interfaces?

Approach: FUTURE will expand on the Irradiation and Corrosion Experiment -- also known as ICE -- which is a unique facility combining a corrosion cell with ion beam irradiation. Past work has shown that irradiation can change the thickness of the corroded layer by a factor of ten or more. FUTURE will add new capabilities to this experiment to probe how different corrosive environments -- liquid metals versus molten salts -- impact material evolution in an irradiation environment. These coupled effects studies will be complemented by detailed electrochemical impedance spectroscopy which targets the rates of reactions occurring at these interfaces that dictate the overall corrosive behavior.

Thrust Lead: Peter Hosemann of the University of California, Berkeley

Cross-cut Thrust: Multiscale Modeling

Context: Ultimately, scientific understanding is demonstrated by the ability to explain experimental results and predict new outcomes. To understand the coupled extremes that drive transport in reactors, a multiscale model is a must, a model which accounts for the complex and evolving microstructure within the material during irradiation and how that microstructure and defect content couples with atomic transport. 

Motivating Scientific Theme: Develop a predictive model that links the experimental activities to bring true insight into fundamental mechanisms.

Approach: FUTURE will both determine fundamental defect properties, via atomistic modeling, and develop mesoscale models built incorporating those properties to make predictions of coupled irradiation and corrosion in materials. This chemico-mechanical model, built on the foundations of cluster dynamics and dislocation dynamics, will account for local and evolving stresses in the material as a consequence of irradiation. Initially, boundary conditions describing the complex interfacial reactions will be described by the point defect model. These will be supplanted by more physics-based descriptions of the reactions as the project evolves. The models will both help interpret experiments, which serve as critical validation, and guide new experimental studies that lead to new understanding.

Thrust Leads: Laurent Capolungo of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Mark Asta of the University of California, Berkeley.

  1. Revealing Oxygen Mixing Mechanisms at Surfaces (2022)

    Discovery of the chemical mechanisms that mix oxygen into the surface layers of an oxide. Free oxygen and metal atoms on the surface were found to enable these reactions. 

    (above) Free oxygen (green) on the surface of Fe2O3 “pulls up” subsurface oxygen (blue) and iron (red), opening up vacancies in the Fe2O3 lattice. A ring-like rotation mechanism (yellow arrows) then occurs to incorporate the free oxygen into the lattice, replacing it on the surface with a lattice oxygen.
    (above) Free oxygen (green) on the surface of Fe2O3 “pulls up” subsurface oxygen (blue) and iron (red), opening up vacancies in the Fe2O3 lattice. A ring-like rotation mechanism (yellow arrows) then occurs to incorporate the free oxygen into the lattice, replacing it on the surface with a lattice oxygen.

    Significance and Impact

    The interaction of oxygen with surfaces is of key importance in energy and environmental applications. Understanding these chemical mechanisms impacts thin film synthesis, corrosion, and heterogeneous catalysis.

    Research Details

    • Epitaxial Fe2O3 and Cr2O3 films and heterostructures were deposited by molecular beam epitaxy
    • Intermixing of 18O tracer layers was quantitatively measured by atom probe tomography
    • Key intermixing mechanisms were identified using atomistic simulations and informed a model of intermixing during growth

    Citation

    Adatom-driven oxygen intermixing during the deposition of oxide thin films by molecular beam epitaxy
    T. Kaspar, P. Hatton, K. Yano, S. Taylor, S. Spurgeon, B. Uberuaga, D. Schreiber
    Nano Letters (2022). Accepted.

  2. Microstructural Dependence of Vacancy Formation in Iron-Oxide Thin Films (2022)

    Positron annihilation spectroscopy was used to characterize point defects and measure their depth and size distributions in three different metal/oxide thin films

    (above) Cartoon schematics of each oxide samples processed. Lines represent grain boundaries and black features represent voids. (a) Defect parameter S as a function of positron energy and mean implantation depth. (b) Average positron lifetime as a function of positron energy and mean implantation depth. (c) Comparison of S-W plots across the thickness of the three films.
    (above) Cartoon schematics of each oxide samples processed. Lines represent grain boundaries and black features represent voids. (a) Defect parameter S as a function of positron energy and mean implantation depth. (b) Average positron lifetime as a function of positron energy and mean implantation depth. (c) Comparison of S-W plots across the thickness of the three films.

    Significance and Impact

    • Initial film morphology leads to very different defect content.
    • Physical vapor deposition conditions, namely temperature and bias strictly define oxide morphology.

    Research Details

    • Two oxide films grown via physical vapor deposition at 600 oC and room temperature exhibited dense-epitactic and columnar-polycrystalline, microstructures respectively. A third oxide film grown in open air at 600 oC exhibited an eqiuaxed, porous morphology.
    • Cubic maghemite and magnetite phases in each oxide film were identified via grazing incidence X-ray diffraction.
    • Positron annihilation spectroscopy showed a range of average positron lifetimes from 0.23 ns in the high temperature, vapor deposited film, 0.35 ns in the room temperature-grown film, and 0.31 ns in the thermally grown oxide.

    Citation

    Microstructural Dependence of Vacancy Formation in Iron-Oxide Thin Films
    B. Derby, S. Mills, S. Agarwal, J. Valdez, J. Baldwin, M. Schneider, A. Minor, B. Uberuaga, F. Selim, N. Li
    Applied Surface Science (2022).

  3. The Effect of Chromium on Mass Transport Along Ni Grain Boundaries (2022)

    Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show that the addition of Cr has a small impact on the rate of defect transport along grain boundaries (GBs) in Ni, tending to reduce mobility in most cases.

    (above) Grain boundaries are often fast highways for mass transport and are critical features in promoting corrosive attack. In Ni-Cr alloys exposed to molten salts, Cr is preferentially leached, suggesting higher rates of Cr transport. Molecular dynamics simulations of interstitial- and vacancy-mediated transport at Cr alloyed GBs reveals that, generally, Cr slows transport, and that the presence of Cr is not directly responsible for high mass transport rates.
    (above) Grain boundaries are often fast highways for mass transport and are critical features in promoting corrosive attack. In Ni-Cr alloys exposed to molten salts, Cr is preferentially leached, suggesting higher rates of Cr transport. Molecular dynamics simulations of interstitial- and vacancy-mediated transport at Cr alloyed GBs reveals that, generally, Cr slows transport, and that the presence of Cr is not directly responsible for high mass transport rates.

    Significance and Impact

    • The addition of Cr alone does not drive the high rates of transport seen during the dealloying of grain boundaries in Ni-Cr alloys exposed to molten salts, indicating that other explanations must be searched for.

    Research Details

    • Four very different grain boundaries were alloyed with different amounts of Cr and transport due to both interstitials and vacancies were simulated with MD.
    • At tilt GBs, Cr significantly reduces interstitial transport along the tilt axis, except for special cases in which Cr is well aligned.
    • At twist GBs, interstitials and vacancies migrate at similar rates and Cr slows both mechanisms slightly.

    Citation

    The effect of Cr alloying on defect migration at Ni grain boundaries
    B. P. Uberuaga, P. Simonnin, K. M. Rosso, D. K. Schreiber, and M. Asta
    Journal of Materials Science (2022)
    .

  4. Radiation Drives Oxygen Through Protective Oxides (2021)

    Irradiation dramatically accelerates oxygen movement through Cr2O3 by up to 5 orders of magnitude at reactor-relevant temperatures.

    (above) Using MBE, we can create atomically precise 18O (red) and 16O (blue) isotope tracer layers within Cr2O3 films that, in combination with direct APT observation (bottom panel), enable quantification of O diffusion. When these films are irradiated, crystal defects (vacancies - ¨; interstitials - ¤) promote O diffusion by 5 orders of magnitude, degrading the passivating properties of Cr2O3 films under combined radiation and  corrosive conditions.
    (above) Using MBE, we can create atomically precise 18O (red) and 16O (blue) isotope tracer layers within Cr2O3 films that, in combination with direct APT observation (bottom panel), enable quantification of O diffusion. When these films are irradiated, crystal defects (vacancies - ¨; interstitials - ¤) promote O diffusion by 5 orders of magnitude, degrading the passivating properties of Cr2O3 films under combined radiation and corrosive conditions.

    Significance and Impact

    Nanoscale Cr2O3 films on corrosion-resistant alloys inhibit degradation by slowing atomic transport. Our work shows that irradiation reduces this protectiveness by increasing O mobility under combined irradiation and corrosion conditions in nuclear reactors.

    Research Details

    An atomically precise model Cr2O3 film was deposited by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) with an embedded 18O tracer layer to measure diffusion
    Films were irradiated with Ar+ at reactor-relevant temperatures (350–500°C), and the 18O diffusion was quantified using atom probe tomography (APT)
    A chemical rate theory model was developed to interpret the dose and temperature dependence of radiation-enhanced anion diffusion

    Citation

    Radiation Enhanced Anion Diffusion in Chromia
    K. Yano, A. Kohnert, T. Kaspar, S. Taylor, S. Spurgeon, H. Kim, Y. Wang, B. P. Uberuaga, and D. K. Schreiber
    Journal of Physical Chemistry C (2021).

  5. Positron annihilation spectroscopy of defects in nuclear and irradiated materials (2021)

    The paper represents the first review article on PAS of nuclear and irradiated materials, explaining PAS in a context relevant to nuclear and material scientists and discusses in depth PAS contributions in understanding radiation damage mechanisms since the 1970’s. It offers a vision of new positron capabilities for in-situ measurements and studies of materials under extreme conditions.

    In the past: PAS provided the first observation of void formation in neutron irradiated materials and assisted in revealing the mechanisms of void nucleation and defect annealing in solids.In the present: Thanks to the development of pulsed positron beams, quantification of atomic scale defects induced by irradiation (size and density) as a function of depth has just begun.In the future: PAS would reveal the in-situ defect content and their kinetics during irradiation, stress, and corrosion. It would monitor formation of single vacancies and their accumulation to large clusters and radiation induced atomic scale segregation in novel emerging materials.
    In the past: PAS provided the first observation of void formation in neutron irradiated materials and assisted in revealing the mechanisms of void nucleation and defect annealing in solids. In the present: Thanks to the development of pulsed positron beams, quantification of atomic scale defects induced by irradiation (size and density) as a function of depth has just begun. In the future: PAS would reveal the in-situ defect content and their kinetics during irradiation, stress, and corrosion. It would monitor formation of single vacancies and their accumulation to large clusters and radiation induced atomic scale segregation in novel emerging materials.

    Significance and Impact

    • This review will help guide the nuclear materials community on the application and interpretation of PAS in irradiated materials and advanced defect studies in emerging new materials for advanced nuclear technology. Understanding radiation damage mechanisms in these materials cannot be accomplished without the implementation of PAS thanks to its unique sensitivity (1 ppm) and atomic scale resolution of defects.

    Research Details

    • The principles of PAS defects, its techniques, and data analysis were explained.
    • The important milestones in PAS studies of neutron, ion and He irradiated materials, and defect kinetics and annealing, were featured.
    • The most recent results that expanded PAS capability to full quantification of radiation induced defects in terms of size, density and depth distribution were discussed.
    • Development of in-situ PAS capability was addressed. Design ideas for in-situ PAS during irradiation, annealing, and corrosion were suggested and their potential impact was demonstrated.
    • The potential and important role that PAS can play in the development of small modular reactors was discussed.

    Citation

    Positron annihilation spectroscopy of defects in nuclear and irradiated materials - a review 
    F.A. Selim
    Materials Characterization 174, 110952 (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.matchar.2021.110952

  6. Interplay between defect transport and spins (2021)

    We reveal a coupling between defect migration and magnetic spins in antiferromagnetic oxides – migration creates misaligned spins which change the migration barrier for the defect.

    (above) Density functional theory calculations reveal that the migration of a defect – in this case an interstitial (highlighted in green) – creates misaligned spins (red) in antiferromagnetic structures. These cost energy, increasing the migration barrier of the defect. Thus, there is a coupling between the migrating defect and the spin structure of the material. These misaligned spins do not form in ferromagnetic materials.
    (above) Density functional theory calculations reveal that the migration of a defect – in this case an interstitial (highlighted in green) – creates misaligned spins (red) in antiferromagnetic structures. These cost energy, increasing the migration barrier of the defect. Thus, there is a coupling between the migrating defect and the spin structure of the material. These misaligned spins do not form in ferromagnetic materials.

    Significance and Impact

    We reveal a coupling between defect migration and magnetic spins in antiferromagnetic oxides – migration creates misaligned spins which change the migration barrier for the defect.

    Research Details

    • Density functional theory calculations were performed to determine the migration energy of cation interstitials in both magnetic and non-magnetic corundum-structured oxides.
    • Two limits were considered for Fe2O3 – an important oxide in energy materials and in the corrosion of iron-based materials – an antiferromagnetic structure in which spins are antialiigned and a ferromagnetic structure in which they are aligned.
    • The migrating interstitial leads to misaligned spins, each of which costs about 0.5 eV.
    • This causes a direct increase in the migration barrier of the interstitial by about 1 eV compared to the ferromagnetic case.

    Citation

    Interplay between defect transport and cation spin frustration in conundrum-structured oxides
    A. Banerjee, A. A. Kohnert, E. F. Holby, B. P. Uberuaga
    Physical Review Materials 5, 034410 (2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.5.034410

  7. Effects of Radiation-Induced Defects on Corrosion (2021)

    Some irradiation-corrosion (IC) phenomena (radiolysis, irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking) have been studied extensively, but little work has targeted the role of radiation damage in the material itself on corrosion.

    (above) Illustration of corrosion effects in three nuclear reactor coolants (water, liquid metal, and molten salt) and radiation effects in the coolant, the corrosion layer, and the metal. Both extreme environments exist simultaneously and, while already being complex in their own right, interact in various ways to form an even more complicated system.
    (above) Illustration of corrosion effects in three nuclear reactor coolants (water, liquid metal, and molten salt) and radiation effects in the coolant, the corrosion layer, and the metal. Both extreme environments exist simultaneously and, while already being complex in their own right, interact in various ways to form an even more complicated system.

    Significance and Impact

    • We summarized the state of knowledge about IC interactions between several reactor-relevant materials (steels and nickel- and zirconium-based alloys) and different coolants (water, heavy liquid metal, and molten fluoride).

    • An extensive body of literature discusses IC effects in water, specifically in zirconium alloys. Lessons learned in experimental design and interpretation of results can be applied to Gen-IV coolants as well.

    • Effects of defects in the metal are often overshadowed by more obvious effects, such as radiolysis, so careful experimental design is required.

    Research Details

    • Highly defective Fe films grown and irradiated at LANL were interrogated using both positrons (BGSU, HZDR) and TEM (NCSU, PNNL).
    • Positron annihilation spectroscopy and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) revealed complementary aspects of defect evolution with dose.
    • Combined, the two techniques reveal a new mechanism for how collision cascades interact with pre-existing damage.

    Citation

    Effects of Radiation-Induced Defects on Corrosion
    F. Schmidt, P. Hosemann, R.O. Scarlat, D.K. Schreiber, J.R. Scully, B.P. Uberuaga
    Annual Review of Materials Research 51 (2021).

  8. A New Radiation Damage Mechanism from Combined PAS and TEM Analysis (2021)

    Pre-existing voids interact with collision cascades to modify damage creation. Small vacancy clusters are created while pre-existing voids shrink, indicating a direct interaction between the voids and collision cascades.

    (above) A cartoon showing the proposed new radiation damage mechanism as revealed from combined PAS and TEM analysis. PAS revealed that small vacancy clusters are created by the irradiation while TEM showed that the voids that were already there shrunk.A large density of voids and pores were present in the pristine Fe film. As irradiation with Fe ions created collision cascades in the material, those cascades interacted with the pre-existing voids. The voids absorb interstitials created during the cascade, leaving behind an excess of vacancies and vacancy clusters. The net result is that more small vacancy clusters are created while the larger voids that were already in the material shrink.

    (above) A cartoon showing the proposed new radiation damage mechanism as revealed from combined PAS and TEM analysis. PAS revealed that small vacancy clusters are created by the irradiation while TEM showed that the voids that were already there shrunk.

    A large density of voids and pores were present in the pristine Fe film. As irradiation with Fe ions created collision cascades in the material, those cascades interacted with the pre-existing voids. The voids absorb interstitials created during the cascade, leaving behind an excess of vacancies and vacancy clusters. The net result is that more small vacancy clusters are created while the larger voids that were already in the material shrink.

    Significance and Impact

    Energy-moderated positron beams can probe the depth dependence of radiation damage produced by ion beams, allowing for non-destructive analysis of damage and paving the way for new in situ studies and fundamental examination of defect production in defect-free films.

    Research Details

    • Highly defective Fe films grown and irradiated at LANL were interrogated using both positrons (BGSU, HZDR) and TEM (NCSU, PNNL).
    • Positron annihilation spectroscopy and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) revealed complementary aspects of defect evolution with dose.
    • Combined, the two techniques reveal a new mechanism for how collision cascades interact with pre-existing damage.

    Citation

    A New Mechanism for Void-Cascade Interaction from Non-destructive Depth-resolved Atomic-scale Measurements of Ion Irradiation-induced Defects in Fe S. Agarwal, M. O. Liedke, A. C. L. Jones, E. M. Reed, A. A. Kohnert, B. P. Uberuaga, Y. Q. Wang, J. Cooper, D. Kaoumi, N. Li, R. Auguste, P. Hosemann, L. Capolungo, D. J. Edwards, M. Butterling, E. Hirschmann, A. Wagner, F. A. Selim Science Advances 6, eaba8437 (2020).

  9. Measurement and simulation of vacancy formation in 2 MeV self-irradiated pure Fe (2020)

    In-situ positron spectroscopy critical for capturing the transient populations of fast-moving defects induced by radiation damage 
    Positrons are sensitive to individual point defects, allowing for the measurement of different monovacancy concentrations from different irradiation dose rates.

    (above) In-situ versus ex-situ measurement of vacancy concentration using positrons. Ex-situ experiments only capture larger, extended defects as the smaller defects disappear too quickly to measure ex-situ.
    (above) In-situ versus ex-situ measurement of vacancy concentration using positrons. Ex-situ experiments only capture larger, extended defects as the smaller defects disappear too quickly to measure ex-situ.
    Future Rh10b
    (above) 3D representation of the overlap between beam intensities from ions (red) and positrons (blue) after implantation in Fe. The positron beam intensity profile should be narrow and fit within the ion beam profile so the positrons sample the maximum damage region induced by the ion beam.

    Significance and Impact

    By simulating simultaneous radiation damage and positron spectroscopy, we can reveal properties of the smallest radiation-induced defects, leading to greater understanding of degradation mechanisms in nuclear materials.

    Research Details

    • Simulations reveal massive changes in monovacancy concentration with ion irradiation dose rate.
    • Positron annihilation spectroscopy simulations reveal even small changes in monovacancy concentrations are detectable with positrons. Standard rate theory for radiation damage supports the conclusion that radiation-damage induced vacancies can be distinguished from thermally induced vacancies.
    • The promise of the in-situ technique is to directly observe the smallest vacancy-type point defects in the damage cascade in a way not previously possible via ex-situ measurements.

    Citation

    Measurement and simulation of vacancy formation in 2 MeV self-irradiated pure Fe R. Auguste, M. O. Liedke, F. A. Selim, B. P. Uberuaga, A. Wagner, P. Hosemann Journal of Materials 72, 2436 (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s11837-020-04116-5

  10. A critical assessment of the thermodynamics of vacancy formation in Fe2O3 using hybrid density functional theory (2020)

    Exchange-correlation (XC) dependent vacancy thermodynamics in Fe2O3 
    Accuracy of DFT calculations are strongly dependent on the “flavor” of the XC functionals, with the choice of XC functional affecting defect energy levels and defect formation energies; hybrid functionals are necessary for realistic properties.

    Future Rh11
    (above) HSE06 computed formation energies of iron (top left) and oxygen (top right) vacancies under O-rich conditions and Fe rich conditions as a function of the Fermi energy and charge state of the vacancy.  Under O-rich conditions, the formation energies of the two defects are similar, but under Fe-rich conditions, the disparity between the two is very large.

    Significance and Impact

    Vacancy properties in Fe2O3 are important for understanding the formation of rust/iron oxide, which is a major degradation process in structural materials, leading to significant economic impact each year.

    Research Details

    • DFT calculations are carried out to calculate the formation energy of oxygen and iron vacancies within hematite as a function of the Fermi energy over a range of charge states.
    • In addition to HSE06, other XC functionals, such as GGA+U, SCAN are considered to critically asses the vacancy thermodynamics.
    • Consistent with experiment, HSE06 prediction indicates that that Fe2O3 is relatively easily reduced but not oxidized.
    • Effect of two different Hubbard-U and 7 different charge states for Fe and 5 different charge states for O are explored. The impact of cell size on the defect formation energy and relaxed defect structure is also studied

    Citation

    Critical Assessment of the Thermodynamics of Vacancy Formation in Fe2O3 Using Hybrid Density Functional Theory
     A. Banerjee, A. A. Kohnert, E. F. Holby, B. P. Uberuaga
    The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 124, 23988 (2020). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c07522 

  11. Hydrogen induced p- and n-type conductivity in an ultra-wide band gap oxide (2020)

    Hydrogen doping induces both n and p type conductivity in Ga2O3
    n-type conductivity in Ga2O3 is over 9 orders of magnitude when high amount of hydrogen is incorporated, eventually switching to p-type conductivity as the hydrogen content is reduced.

    Future Rh12
    (above) A combination of positron annihilation spectroscopy and density functional theory identify the stability of four hydrogen ions occupying a single Ga vacancy in Ga2O3
    Future Rh12b
    (above) Thermally stimulated luminescence and conductivity experiments reveal that, as hydrogen is incorporated into the material, the conductivity changes dramatically and, more surprisingly, shifts from n-type to p-type conductivity.

    Significance and Impact

    By demonstrating for the first time a bipolar doping mechanism, the potential applications in optoelectronics and high-power electronics in which Ga2O3 might be used expands greatly.

    Research Details

    • Conductivity experiments reveal massive changes in conductivity with H doping.
    • Positron annihilation spectroscopy reveals that the H is filling Ga vacancies. Density functional theory supports the conclusion that these vacancies can hold up to 4 H atoms, changing the net charge state of the defect.
    • Thermally stimulated luminescence shows the creation of shallow acceptors and shallow donors as the vacancies are filled with 2 hydrogen and 4 hydrogen, respectively

    Citation

    Chemical manipulation of hydrogen induced high p-type and n-type conductivity in Ga2O3
    M. M. Islam, M. O. Liedke, D. Winarski, M. Butterling, A. Wagner, P. Hosemann, Y. Wang, B. P. Uberuaga, F. A. Selim.
    Scientific Reports 10, 6134 (2020).

  12. Electrical Properties of Thermal Oxide Scales on pure Iron in Liquid Lead-Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) (2020)

    Impedance response of oxide scales in liquid LBE

    The impedance response of oxidized iron in a liquid LBE environment, a potential reactor coolant material, is sensitive to the integrity, thickness and defect density of the oxide scales.

    A cartoon shows the effect of oxidation temperature and time on oxide scales on pure Fe and the impedance behavior in liquid LBE. The resistance of the oxide film increases with both increasing oxidizing temperature and oxidation time, as both lead to a thicker film with fewer defects. In particular, the thicker films are less porous, leading to less ability of the film to short-circuit the EIS signal.
    A cartoon shows the effect of oxidation temperature and time on oxide scales on pure Fe and the impedance behavior in liquid LBE. The resistance of the oxide film increases with both increasing oxidizing temperature and oxidation time, as both lead to a thicker film with fewer defects. In particular, the thicker films are less porous, leading to less ability of the film to short-circuit the EIS signal.

    Significance and Impact

    Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is an important in-situ probe into the properties of evolving oxide scales. However, EIS has not been widely applied to liquid metals. This work shows that EIS can be used to understand scale formation in liquid metals, but the interpretation is complex, depending on multiple factors beyond just the thickness of the oxide film.

    Research Details

    • iThe electrical properties of the pre-oxidized iron in liquid LBE were evaluated by EIS.
    • With increasing the oxidation temperature, the resistance of the oxide film increases, due to the formation of a thicker scale and fewer defects over time.
    • The impedance behavior of these oxide scales as measured in LBE is very different than when measured in more standard aqueous environments. Work is ongoing to understand the origin of this difference.

    Citation

    Electrical Properties of thick Oxide scales on pure iron in liquid lead-bismuth eutectic
    J. Qiu, J. Han, R. Schoell, M. Popovic, E. Ghanbari, D. Kaoumi, J. R. Scully, D. D. Macdonald, P. Hosemann
    Corrosion Science 176, 109052 (2020).

  13. A pathway to synthesizing single-crystal
    Fe and FeCr films (202)

    Microstructure of single-crystal Fe and FeCr films depend on PVD conditions
    The microstructure of single-crystal Fe and FeCr thin films, model systems for structural materials used in nuclear reactor components, is highly sensitive to the deposition temperature, substrate bias, and Cr content.

    Future Rh14
    (above) (a) Surface and cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of the pure Fe film deposited at 500 C with 10 W RF bias. (b) electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) of the film surface presents only one growth orientation Fe (001) without any boundaries. (c) Correlated cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image with inset high resolution TEM image at the Fe/MgO interface and inset electron diffraction pattern highlighting the single crystal nature of the films.

    Significance and Impact

    The synthesis and control over the morphology of model Fe-based alloys is vital for understanding the fundamental mechanisms that govern coupled irradiation and corrosion material response. This study significantly advances the understanding of how adding Cr solutes impacts the growth mechanisms governing Fe films during vapor deposition.

    Research Details

    • Fe and FeCr thin films were deposited using physical vapor deposition under a matrix of substrate temperature and bias.
    • The film surface, chemistry, and microstructure were characterized using advanced electron microscopy.
    • It was found that when Cr is alloyed with Fe, higher substrate temperature and bias are required for single-crystal films.
    • Accelerated molecular dynamics simulations revealed that adding Cr to a growing Fe film impedes surface transport during the growth.

    Citation

    A pathway to synthesizing single-crystal Fe and FeCr films
    B. Derby, J. Cooper, T. Lach, E. Martinez, H. Kim, J.K. Baldwin, D. Kaoumi, D.J. Edwards, D.K. Schreiber, B.P. Uberuaga, N. Li
    Surface and Coatings Technology 403, 126346 (2020)

Research Plan

We combine experiment and modeling to understand the fundamental processes responsible for materials evolution under concurrent irradiation and corrosion. Our focus is on materials heterogeneities - those aspects of materials that deviate from non-ideality and dictate the properties of the material.

Each of the thrusts in FUTURE is motivated by a specific scientific hypothesis that gets at the heart of the problem we are addressing:

  • The energy landscape for transport in compositionally-heterogeneous alloys and oxides alters the rate and prevailing mechanisms of corrosion and is, in turn, modified by irradiation.
  • The thermokinetics of defect evolution and thus ongoing corrosion, thermally and under irradiation, differ in a multiphase vs. single phase material.
    The dynamics of transport that drive corrosion through extended defects and their networks are altered under irradiation.
  • Tying the Thrusts together are Cross-Cutting science Topics related to different corrosion environments: oxide-forming corrosion and molten salt corrosion.

Together, these Thrusts interrogate the fundamental mechanisms responsible for materials evolution that drive the response under coupled reactor extremes.

Publications

When Atoms Get Out of Line

how FUTURE's scientists are generating insights about how materials are impacted by the extreme conditions of a nuclear reactor.

Productivity 

Peer-reviewed publications, conference and workshop presentations, and citations highlighting the work of FUTURE.

Peer-reviewed Publications

FUTURE Only

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the only source of funding.


  • Grain boundary effects in high-temperature liquid-metal dealloying: a multi-phase field study

    Nathan Bieberdorf, Mark Asta, and Laurent Capolungo npj Computational Materials 9, (2023), DOI:10.1038/s41524-023-01076-7

  • Effect of tellurium concentration on the corrosion and mechanical properties of 304 stainless steel in molten FLiNaK salt

    Minsung Hong, Ho Chan, Yujun Xie, Elena Romanovskaia, John Scully, and Peter Hosemann
    Corrosion Science 212,110913 (2023), DOI:10.1016/j.corsci.2022.110913

  • Corrosion property of Alloy 625 in Molten FLiNaK salt according to the Tellurium Concentrations

    Minsung Hong, Ho Chan, John Scully, and Peter Hosemann
    Journal of Nuclear Materials 584, 154548 (2023) DOI:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154548

  • An In Situ, multi-electrode electrochemical method to assess the open circuit potential corrosion of Cr in unpurified molten FLiNaK

    Elena Romanovskaia, Ho Chan, Valentin Romanovski, Francisco Garfias, Minsung Hong, Sara Mastromarino, Peter Hosemann, Raluca Scarlat, and John Scully
    Corrosion Science 222,111389 (2023) DOI:10.1016/j.corsci.2023.111389

  • Deciphering when Metal Corrosion is Spontaneous in Molten Fluorides Using Potential-Activity Diagrams

    Ho Chan and John Scully
    Corrosion 79 ,1236-1240 (2023) DOI:10.5006/4401

  • Nanoscale mapping of point defect concentrations with 4D-STEM

    Sean Mills, Steven Zeltmann, Peter Ercius, Aaron Kohnert, Blas Uberuaga, and Andrew Minor
    Acta Materialia 246 ,118721 (2023) DOI:10.1016/j.actamat.2023.118721
  • Short range order in disordered spinels and the impact on cation vacancy transport

    Peter Hatton and Blas Uberuaga
    Journal of Materials Chemistry A 11,3471-3480 (2023) DOI:10.1039/D2TA06102C

  • Multi–length scale characterization of point defects in thermally oxidized, proton irradiated iron oxides

    Ho Chan, Rasheed Auguste, Elena Romanovskaia, Angelica Morales, Franziska Schmidt, Valentin Romanovski, Christopher Winkler, Jie Qiu, Yongqiang Wang, Djamel Kaoumi, Farida Selim, Blas Uberuaga, Peter Hosemann, and John Scully
    Materialia 28 ,101762 (2023) DOI:10.1016/j.mtla.2023.101762

  • Thermokinetics of point defects in alpha-Fe2O3

    Amitava Banerjee, Edward Holby, Aaron Kohnert, Shivani Srivastava, Mark Asta, and Blas Uberuaga
    Electronic Structure 5, 024007 (2023) DOI:10.1088/2516-1075/acd158

  • In situ measurements of non-equilibrium positron state defects during He irradiation in Si

    R. Auguste, M. Liedke, M. Butterling, B. Uberuaga, F. Selim, A. Wagner, and P. Hosemann
    Journal of Applied Physics 133, (2023) DOI:10.1063/5.0144308

  • Density Functional Theory Study of Local Environment Effects on Oxygen Vacancy Properties in Magnetite

    Shivani Srivastava, Blas Uberuaga, and Mark Asta
    The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 127,17460-17472 (2023) DOI:10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c02581

  • Role of structural defects in mediating disordering processes at irradiated epitaxial Fe3O4/Cr2O3 interfaces

    Tiffany Kaspar, Steven Spurgeon, Kayla Yano, Bethany Matthews, Mark Bowden, Colin Ophus, Hyosim Kim, Yongqiang Wang, and Daniel Schreiber
    Physical Review Materials 7, (2023) DOI:10.1103/physrevmaterials.7.093604

FUTURE Primary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the primary source of funding.


  • Barrier-free predictions of short-range ordering/clustering kinetics in binary FCC solid solutions

    Anas Abu-Odeh, Blas Uberuaga, and Mark Asta
    Acta Materialia 257,119185 (2023) DOI:10.1016/j.actamat.2023.119185

  • One dimensional wormhole corrosion in metals

    Yang Yang, Weiyue Zhou, Sheng Yin, Sarah Wang, Qin Yu, Matthew Olszta, Ya-Qian Zhang, Steven Zeltmann, Mingda Li, Miaomiao Jin, Daniel Schreiber, Jim Ciston, M. Scott, John Scully, Robert Ritchie, Mark Asta, Ju Li, Michael Short, and Andrew Minor
    Nature Communications 14,988 (2023) DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-36588-9

  • Corrosion Electrochemistry of Chromium in Molten FLiNaK Salt at 600 °C

    Ho Chan, Elena Romanovskaia, Valentin Romanovski, Debashish Sur, Minsung Hong, Peter Hosemann, and John Scully
    Journal of The Electrochemical Society 170,081502 (2023) DOI:10.1149/1945-7111/ace8c0

FUTURE Secondary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was a secondary source of funding.


  • Investigation of the ordered and disordered corrosion morphologies on Ni-based alloy in the passive state

    Xiaowei Lei, Xinyu Dong, Luyao Hao, Jixuan Wang, Digby Macdonald, and Nan Wang
    Corrosion Science 224,111490 (2023) DOI:10.1016/j.corsci.2023.111490

  • The corrosion effects of neutron activation of 2LiF-BeF2 (FLiBe)

    Lorenzo Vergari, Raluca Scarlat, Ryan Hayes, and Massimiliano Fratoni
    Nuclear Materials and Energy 34, 101289 (2023) DOI:10.1016/j.nme.2022.101289

  • Advanced Thermoluminescence Spectroscopy as a Research Tool for Semiconductor and Photonic Materials: A Review and Perspective

    Farida Selim
    Physica Status Solidi (A) 220, 2200712 (2023) DOI:10.1002/pssa.202200712

FUTURE Only

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the only source of funding.


  • A multimodal approach to revisiting oxidation defects in Cr2O3

    R. Auguste, H. L. Chan, E. Romanovskaia, J. Qiu, R. Schoell, M. O. Liedke, M. Butterling, E. Hirschmann, A. G. Attallah, A. Wagner, F. A. Selim, D. Kaoumi, B. P. Uberuaga, P. Hosemann, and J. R. Scully
    NPJ Materials Degradation (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41529-022-00269-7

  • The mechanism behind the high radiation tolerance of Fe-Cr alloys

    S. Agrawal, M. Butterling, M. Liedke, K. Yano, D. Schreiber, A. Jones, B. Uberuaga, Y.Q. Wang, M. Chancey, H. Kim, B. Derby, N. Li, D.J. Edwards, P. Hosemann, D. Kaoumi, E. Hirschmann, A. Wagner, F. Selim
    Journal of Applied Physics (2022). DOI:10.1063/5.0085086

  • Insights on the corrosion thermodynamics of chromium in molten LiF-NaF-KF salts

    H. Chan, E. Romanovskaia, J. Qiu, P. Hosemann, J. Scully
    NPJ Materials Degradation (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41529-022-00267-9

  • Microstructural dependence of defect formation in iron-oxide thin films

    B. Derby, S. Mills, S. Agrawal, J. Valdez, J. Baldwin, M. Schneider, A. Minor, B. Uberuaga, F. Selim, N. Li
    Applied Surface Science (2022). DOI:10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.152844

  • Adatom-driven oxygen intermixing during the deposition of oxide thin films by molecular beam epitaxy

    T. Kaspar, P. Hatton, K. Yano, S. Taylor, S. Spurgeon, B. Uberuaga, D. Schreiber
    Nano Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01678

  • Constant-Potential Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Molten-Salt Double Layers for FLiBe and FLiNaK

    L. Langford, N. Winner, A. Hwang, et al.
    The Journal of Chemical Physics (2022). DOI: 10.1063/5.0097697

  • Surprisingly high irradiation-induced defect mobility in Fe3O4 as revealed through in situ Transmission Electron Microscopy

    M. Owusu-Mensah, J. Cooper, A. Morales, K. Yano, S. Taylor, D. Schreiber, B. Uberuaga, D. Kaoumi
    Materials Characterization (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.matchar.2022.111863

  • Effect of thermal oxidation on helium implanted 316L stainless steel

    Minsung Hong, Angelica Morales, Ho Chan, Digby Macdonald, Mehdi Balooch, Yujun Xie, Elena Romanovskaia, John Scully, Djamel Kaoumi, and Peter Hosemann
    Journal of Applied Physics 132,185104 (2022) DOI:10.1063/5.0122487

  • Interface effect of Fe and Fe2O3 on the distributions of ion induced defects

    Hyosim Kim, Matthew Chancey, Thaihang Chung, Ian Brackenbury, Maciej Liedke, Maik Butterling, Eric Hirschmann, Andreas Wagner, Jon Baldwin, Ben Derby, Nan Li, Kayla Yano, Danny Edwards, Yongqiang Wang, and Farida Selim
    Journal of Applied Physics 132,105901 (2022) DOI:10.1063/5.0095013

FUTURE Primary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the primary source of funding.


  • Development of a pulsed, variable-energy postiron beam for atomic scale defect studies

    A. C. L. Jones, R. G. Greaves, C. L. Codding, F. A. Selim
    Review of Scientific Instruments (2022). DOI:10.1063/5.0077750

  • The effect of Cr alloying on defect migration at grain boundaries

    B. P. Uberuaga, P. Simonnin, K. M. Rosso, D. K. Schreiber, M. Asta
    Journal of Material Science (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s10853-021-06590-x

FUTURE Secondary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was a secondary source of funding.


  • Investigation of the Fatigue Crack Behavior of 304 Stainless Steels using Synchrotron X-ray Tomography and Diffraction: Influence of the Martensite Fraction and Role of Inclusions

    R. Schoell, L. Xi, H. West, P. Hosemann, J.S. Park, P. Kenesei, J. Almer, Z. Shayer, D. Kaoumi
    Materials Characterization (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.matchar.2022.111903

  • Mechanism of chlorine-induced stress corrosion cracking of two 304 SS heats in simulated marine environment through in situ X-ray tomography and diffraction: Role of deformation induced martensite and crack branching

    Ryan Schoell, Li Xi, Yuchen Zhao, Xin Wu, Yu Hong, Zhenzhen Yu, Peter Kenesei, Jonathan Almer, Zeev Shayer, Djamel Kaoumi
    Materials Characterization 190,112020 (2022) DOI:10.1016/j.matchar.2022.112020

  • On the frontiers of coupled extreme environments

    Mitra Taheri, William Carter, Blas Uberuaga
    MRS Bulletin 47,1104-1112 (2022) DOI:10.1557/s43577-022-00442-y

FUTURE Only

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the sole source of funding.


  • Helium Bubble Nucleation and Growth in Alloy HT9 through the use of In Situ TEM: Sequential He-Implantation and Heavy-Ion Irradiation versus Dual-Beam Irradiation

    K. Duemmler, C. Zheng, C. Baumier, A. Gentils, D. Kaoumi
    Journal of Nuclear Materials 545, 152641 (2021).
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152641

    • What we did: For the first time, we used in-situ dual ion beam irradiation in a TEM to investigate the formation of He bubbles in Ferritic/Martensitic steel HT9 using concomitant He implantation and heavy ion irradiation.
    • What we learned: We found that the larger the helium/dpa ratio, the larger the bubble density and the smaller the size of the bubbles. Further, the role of He as a nucleant depends on whether ion irradiation was done in parallel or sequentially.
    • Why it matters: This work emphasizes the need to examine synergistic effects in extreme environments.
  • Distinguishing interfacial double layer and oxide-based capacitance using gold and pre-oxidized Fe and Fe-Cr in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate room temperature ionic liquid aqueous mixture

    J. Han, H. L. Chan, M. G. Wartenberg, H. H. Heinrich, J. R. Scully
    Electrochemistry Communication 122 106900 (2021).
    DOI: 10.1016/j.elecom.2020.106900

    • What we did: The objective of this work is to verify an experimental protocol to successfully determine the oxide capacitance and double layer capacitance in a non-aqueous environment. Several electrochemical methodologies to distinguish these two have been proposed; however, it has not been demonstrated in non-aqueous cases, such as room temperature ionic liquid.
    • What we learned: We have verified that EIS using a power-law model can be used to determine the oxide capacitance. The measured oxide capacitance was used to calculate the oxide thickness assuming a dielectric layer, then verified with ex-situ TEM analysis. The double layer capacitance also could be obtained from the same EIS spectra at low-frequency domain.
    • Why it matters: Determining and measuring the capacitance is relatively well understood in aqueous media. However, in non-aqueous cases such as ionic liquids and molten salts, it was not certain whether a direct comparison using the same methodology as in aqueous solution was possible. We have demonstrated that the EIS analysis may be applied to distinguish the capacitance values in a representative room temperature ionic liquid.
  • Electrochemical stability, physical and electronical properties of thermally pre-formed oxide compared to artificially sputtered oxide on Fe thin films in aqueous chloride

    J. Han, M. G. Wartenberg, H. L. Chan, B. K. Derby, N. Li, J. R. Scully
    Corrosion Science, 109456 (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2021.109456

    • What we did: In this paper, we compared the stability of oxide that is thermally oxidized and iron oxide sputtered deposited on a pure Fe substrate.
    • What we learned: We found that the sputtered iron oxide exhibits superior resistance to pitting and oxide dissolution in the presence of chloride at both low and high pH when compared to the thermal oxides.
    • Why it matters: Understanding exposure aging and chemical stability of these oxide films is of great interest for long term utilization of reactor components. This project allows us to understand if synetic oxides can be good surrogates for thermal oxides in harsh environments.
  • Neutron irradiation induced defects in oxides and their impact on the oxide properties

    M. Haseman, C. B. Somodi, P. Stepanov, D. E. Wall, L. A. Boatner, P. Hosemann, Y. Q. Wang, B. P. Uberuaga, F. A. Selim
    Journal of Applied Physics, 215901 (2021). DOI: 10.1063/5.0046292

  • Bulk and short-circuit anion diffusion in epitaxial Fe2O3 films quantified using buried isotopic tracer layers

    T. C. Kaspar, S. D. Taylor, K. H. Yano, T. G. Lach, Y. Zhou, Z. Zhu, A. A. Kohnert, E. K. Still, P. Hosemann, S. R. Spurgeon, D. K. Schreiber
    Applied Materials Interfaces, 2001768 (2021). DOI: 10.1002/admi.202001768

    • What we did: We synthesized Fe2O3 films with an isotopic tracer layer enriched in 18O, and characterized in 3D the redistribution of this tracer in the lattice and along defects with atom probe tomography (APT).
    • What we learned: We made the first semi-quantitative measurement of oxygen diffusion along a structural defect in Fe2O3, and found that it exhibits 104 times higher anion diffusivity than through the pristine lattice.
    • Why it matters: 3D visualization of isotopic tracer transport is a cutting-edge methodology we have developed to quantify diffusion and transport in solids. Our study uses precisely synthesized model systems to reveal new details of thermal diffusion pathways. This methodology and the results we obtained will underpin future studies of transport occurring during corrosion and irradiation.
  • Electrochemical study of the dissolution of oxide films grown on Type 316L stainless steel in molten fluoride salt

    J. Qiu, D. D. Macdonald, R. Schoell, J. Han, S. Mastromarino, J. Scully, D. Kaoumi, P. Hosemann
    Corrosion Science, 109457 (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2021.109457

    • What we did: We employed electrochemical methods to investigate the corrosion behavior of oxide films grown on Type 316L stainless steel in molten FLiNaK salt. The oxide dissolution rate and process in high temperature molten fluoride salt was discussed.
    • What we learned: The oxide film formed on Type 316L SS is unstable and can only temporarily protect materials from corrosion in molten FLiNaK salt. The oxide dissolution rate is approximately 0.0017 μm/h at 700 oC in molten FLiNaK salt according to the EIS. After the oxide film dissolved, the Cr and Fe were selective dealloying from the steel and lead to intergranular corrosion of Type 316L SS in molten fluoride salt.
    • Why it matters: In most high temperature corrosive environments, such as high temperature aqueous, supercritical water, liquid metal etc., alloys derive their corrosion resistance from the formation of a continuous and compact protective oxide film on the surface of the materials. However, the protective oxide films are inherently thermodynamic unstable in molten fluoride salts. Using EIS to study the electronic properties of the oxide films that form on Type 316L SS is of fundamental interest in determining the dissolution rate and ensuring the safe application of Type 316L SS in molten fluoride salts.
  • Continuous Monitoring of Pure Fe Corrosion in Lead-Bismuth Eutectic Under Irradiation with Proton-Induced X-ray Emission Spectroscopy

    F. Schmidt, M. Chancey, H. Kim, Y. Q. Wang, P. Hosemann
    JOM (2021). DOI: 10.1007/s11837-021-04954-x

    Effects of Radiation-Induced Defects on Corrosion

    F. Schmidt, P. Hosemann, R.O. Scarlat, D.K. Schreiber, J.R. Scully, B.P. Uberuaga
    Annual Review of Materials 51 (2020). DOI: 10.1146/annurev-matsci-080819-123403

    • What we did: We reviewed simultaneous irradiation-corrosion studies on steels and Zircaloy in three different corrosive environments (water, lead-bismuth eutectic, and molten fluorides) that focus on how radiation-induced defects impact the corrosion process.
    • What we learned: Effects of radiation-induced point defects on corrosion have been observed, but are difficult to separate from other environmental effects, and so mechanistic explanations for these processes are often incomplete.
    • Why it matters: No similar review combining and comparing information about these three environments previously existed in the literature. This review identifies key gaps in our knowledge regarding the synergies between irradiation and corrosion.
  • Positron annihilation spectroscopy of defects in nuclear and irradiated materials - a review

    F. A. Selim
    Materials Characterization 174 110952 (2021).
    DOI: 10.1016/j.matchar.2021.110952

    • What we did: We described the fundamentals of positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS), reviewed PAS studies of nuclear and irradiated materials, and discussed how to advance PAS techniques to reach their full capability in radiation damage studies.
    • What we learned: Through the last decades PAS has been very effective in revealing important mechanisms in defect kinetics and radiation damage. Significant attention is currently directed to facilitate the quantitative analysis of atomic scale defects by PAS.
    • Why it matters: The review provides to the nuclear materials and radiation damage communities a guide to facilitate applications of PAS in novel material systems and materials under extreme environments.
  • Alpha Shape Analysis (ASA) Framework for Post Clustering Property Determination in Atom Probe Tomographic Data

    E. Still, D. K. Schreiber, J. Wang, P. Hosemann
    Microscopy and Microanalysis (2021). DOI: 10.1017/S1431927620024939

    • What we did: We designed a post-clustering analysis method to determine the volume, surface areas, and composition of concave features observed in APT data.
    • What we learned: Point based meshing techniques can be used to classify features within APT data as concave or convex while generating additional useful statistics to describe local ionic enrichment.
    • Why it matters: The proposed framework leverages point based meshing to combine the spatial fidelity of cluster searches when searching for features on the order of the APT voxel size with diagnostics that are not directly accessible by conventional search methods.
  • Ab-Initio Simulation Studies of Cr Solvation in Fluoride Molten Salts

    N. Winner, H. Williams, R. Scarlat, M. Asta
    Journal of Molecular Liquids 335 116351 (2021). DOI: /10.1016/j.molliq.2021.116351

  • Radiation Enhanced Anion Diffusion in Chromia

    K. H. Yano, A. A. Kohnert, T. C. Kaspar, S. D. Taylor, S. R. Spurgeon, H. Kim, Y. Wang, B. P. Uberuaga, D. K. Schreiber
    Journal of Physical Chemistry (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c08705

FUTURE Primary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the primary source of funding.


  • Interplay between defect transport and cation spin frustration in corundum-structured oxides

    A. Banerjee, A. A. Kohnert, E. F. Holby, B. P. Uberuaga
    Physical Review Materials 5, 033410 (2021).
    DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.5.034410

    • What we did: Using density functional theory, we examine the migration of cation interstitials in corundum-structures oxides, including Cr2O3 and Fe2O3.
    • What we learned: The migration of cation interstitials is sensitive to the chemistry, with much faster migration in Fe2O3 and Al2O3 than Cr2O3. Further, it is very anisotropic, with fast migration along the c axis of the crystal. Most importantly, we find that the interstitial leaves behind magnetic spin defects as it migrates, which in turn impacts the energy landscape for migration.
    • Why it matters: Understanding cation transport in these oxides is absolutely critical for developing predictive models of oxidation growth and radiation damage evolution under reactor conditions.
  • Defect Characterization Using Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy on Laser-Ablated Surfaces

    P. Hosemann, R. Auguste, S. Lam, M. Butterling, M. O. Liedke, A. G. Attallah, E. Hirschmann, A. Wagner, C. P. Grigoropoulos, F. A. Selim, B. P. Uberuaga
    JOM (2021). DOI: 10.1007/s11837-021-04965-8

  • Correlative STEM-APT characterization of radiation-induced segregation and precipitation of in-service BWR 304 stainless steel

    T. G. Lach, M. J. Olszta, S. D. Taylor, K. H. Yano, D. J. Edwards, T. S. Byun, P. H. Chou, D. K. Schreiber
    Journal of Nuclear Materials 549, 152894 (2021).
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.152894

    • What we did: Directly correlated STEM and APT analyses were used to describe the radiation-induced segregation (RIS) and precipitation (RIP) behavior in a 304 stainless steel that was removed from service in a BWR reactor.
    • What we learned: Direct quantitative comparison of RIS between STEM EDS and APT show that STEM EDS can potentially misrepresent the true RIS concentration and segregation profile at the grain boundary. This was ascribed to beam broadening effects, the magnitude of which changes with sample thickness.
    • Why it matters: RIS and RIP are important microstructural changes that accompany radiation in many structural alloys. In the context of intergranular stress corrosion cracking, RIS of specific detrimental species (e.g., Si) is believed to enhance SCC susceptibility, but tremendous scatter exists in the literature for the magnitude of RIS. By directly comparing STEM EDS and APT measurements, we show that the apparent magnitude and profile shape of the effect can be quantitatively different, and care must be taken to consider artifacts introduced by sample geometry and analysis method.
  • Light driven permanent transition from insulator to conductor

    D. Rana, S. Agarwal, M. Islam, A. Banerjee, B. P. Uberuaga, P. Saadatkia, P. Dulal, N. Adhikari, M. Butterling, M. O. Liedke, A. Wagner, F. A. Selim
    Physical Review B 104 245208 (2021).
    DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.104.245208

  • Radiation-Enhanced Anion Transport in Hematite

    K. H. Yano, A. A. Kohnert, A. Banerjee, D. J. Edwards, E. F. Holby, T. C. Kaspar, H. Kim, T. G. Lach, S. D. Taylor, Y. Q. Wang, B. P. Uberuaga, D. K. Schreiber
    Chemistry of Materials (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c04235

    • What we did: Using atom probe tomography and chemical rate theory models informed by density functional calculations, we probe radiation-enhanced diffusion of oxygen in hematite and compare it to a thermal case in the absence of radiation.
    • What we learned: Radiation enhances the diffusion of oxygen by at least a few orders of magnitude. Even more important, we find a likely transition from a vacancy-mediated to an interstitial-mediated mechanism at temperatures at the end of the experimental ranges, providing new insight into the transport properties of this important material.
    • Why it matters: Transport, either thermally or under irradiation, is the critical property that drives corrosion. Further, evolution under radiation is dictated by defect migration. This work provides a new perspective on transport in hematite that helps reconcile past experimental studies and inform future models of radiation damage evolution and corrosion.

FUTURE Secondary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was a secondary source of funding.


  • Thermal Energy Transport in Oxide Nuclear Fuel

    F. Hurley, A. El-Azab, M. Bryan, M. Cooper, C. Dennett, K. Gofryk, L. He, M. Khafizov, G. Lander, M. Manley, J. Mann, C. Marianetti, K. Rickert, F. Selim, M. Tonks, J. Wharry
    Chemical Reviews (2021). DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00262

FUTURE Only

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the sole source of funding.


  • A New Mechanism for Void-Cascade Interaction from Non-destructive Depth-resolved Atomic-scale Measurements of Ion Irradiation-induced Defects in Fe

    S. Agarwal, M. O. Liedke, A. C. L. Jones, E. M. Reed, A. A. Kohnert, B. P. Uberuaga, Y. Q. Wang, J. Cooper, D. Kaoumi, N. Li, R. Auguste, P. Hosemann, L. Capolungo, D. J. Edwards, M. Butterling, E. Hirschmann, A. Wagner, F. A. Selim
    Science Advances 6, eaba8437 (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba8437

    • What we did: We used both positron annihilation spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy to characterize the defects in porous Fe films irradiated to low doses.
    • What we learned: The initial pores interact with the collision cascades, causing them to shrink but facilitating the formation of small vacancy clusters.
    • Why it matters: This work provides new insight into how pre-existing damage and microstructure modify damage production mechanisms during irradiation.
  • Measurement and simulation of vacancy formation in 2 MeV self-irradiated pure Fe

    R. Auguste, M. O. Liedke, F. A. Selim, B. P. Uberuaga, A. Wagner, P. Hosemann
    Journal of Materials 72, 2436 (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s11837-020-04116-5

    • What we did: We simulated the potential for in situ positron studies to reveal unique insight into the defect structure of ion-irradiated Fe.
    • What we learned: We found that the most mobile defects that are swept away before ex situ measurements can capture them would be detectable by positrons during in situ irradiations, paving the way for new understanding of the defect content of irradiated materials.
    • Why it matters: In many cases, irradiation occurs concurrently with other extreme environments and the in situ defect content is what will drive synergistic evolution. By being able to measure that in situ defect content, we will be better able to understand the synergies between e.g., irradiation and corrosion.
  • Chemical manipulation of hydrogen induced high p-type and n-type conductivity in Ga2O3

    M. M. Islam, M. O. Liedke, D. Winarski, M. Butterling, A. Wagner, P. Hosemann, Y. Wang, B. P. Uberuaga, F. A. Selim.
    Scientific Reports 10, 6134 (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62948-2

    • What we did: Using a combination of positron annihilation spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations, we examined the changes in conductivity induced in a wide band gap material, Ga2O3, as a function of the hydrogen content in the material.
    • What we learned: The conductivity of Ga2O3 changes by many orders of magnitude and from p-type to n-type as the hydrogen content changes, providing one possible route to tune the conductivity of materials for advanced applications.
    • Why it matters: Understanding how the fundamental properties of materials changes with dopant content is critical for developing models of defect evolution. This work demonstrates how a combination of positron annihilation spectroscopy and computational modeling can be used to provide new insight into that defect structure.
  • An electrochemical impedance spectroscopic study of oxide films in liquid metal

    J. Qiu, D. D. Macdonald, N. Li, R. Schoell, D. Kaoumi, P. Hosemann
    Journal of Materials 72, 2082 (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s11837-020-04120-9

    • What we did: We measured the impedance properties of three kinds of oxide films (anodic titanium oxide films, deposited Fe2O3 films and thermally oxidized Fe) in liquid metal.
    • What we learned: Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), a standard method for probing the properties of corrosive scales, is related to the oxide film thickness in liquid metal. To effectively use EIS methods in liquid metals, the oxide film should be thicker than 200nm without cracks.
    • Why it matters: This work tells us that EIS could be used in liquid metal systems as an insitu method to monitor the electrochemical behavior of oxide film, and provides necessary background to use it as an in situ diagnostic tool.
  • Electrical Properties of thick Oxide scales on pure iron in liquid lead-bismuth eutectic

    J. Qiu, J. Han, R. Schoell, M. Popovic, E. Ghanbari, D. Kaoumi, J. R. Scully, D. D. Macdonald, P. Hosemann
    Corrosion Science 176, 109052 (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2020.109052

    • What we did: We measured the impedance properties of thermally-oxidized Fe in liquid
      lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE), and discussed the effect of oxide scale structure on the
      impedance behavior of the oxide in liquid metal.
    • What we learned: The impedance response of oxidized iron in liquid metal is sensitive to the integrity, thickness and defect density of the oxide scales. The resistance increases with increasing the oxidation temperature or time, due to the formation of a thicker scale
      and fewer defects.
    • Why it matters: This study shows both the opportunities and challenges of using EIS to
      understand the properties of oxide scales in liquid metal environments and establishes a
      baseline for interpreting future EIS measurements.

FUTURE Primary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the primary source of funding.


  • Critical Assessment of the Thermodynamics of Vacancy Formation in Fe2O3 Using Hybrid Density Functional Theory

    A. Banerjee, A. A. Kohnert, E. F. Holby, B. P. Uberuaga
    The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 124, 23988 (2020).
    DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c07522

    • What we did: We examined the behavior of both Fe and O vacancies in Fe2O3 as a function of the exchange correlation functional in density functional theory.
    • What we learned: The HSE06 hybrid functional predicts significantly different behavior for the properties of vacancies in hematite compared to GGA and GGA+U methods and provides an overall better description of the material.
    • Why it matters: Knowing the properties of defects is fundamental to understandingradiation damage and corrosion and these results highlight the need for accurate theoretical treatments for reliable predictions.
  • A Pathway to Synthesizing Single-crystal Fe and FeCr Films

    B. Derby, J. Cooper, T. Lach, E. Martinez, H. Kim, J.K. Baldwin, D. Kaoumi, D.J. Edwards, D.K. Schreiber, B.P. Uberuaga, N. Li
    Surface and Coatings Technology 403, 126346 (2020).
    DOI: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2020.126346

    • What we did: We used physical vapor deposition, transmission electron microscopy, and accelerated molecular dynamics simulations to synthesize and understand the growth of single crystal Fe and FeCr films.
    • What we learned: The growth of epitaxial Fe films depends on the substrate temperatureand bias during deposition and, when the Fe films are alloyed with Cr, higher substrate temperatures and bias are needed due to lower adatom mobility.
    • Why it matters: This work allows for the control over the structure and morphology of Fe and Fe-alloyed films, which are model systems for nuclear steels, used to understand fundamental mechanisms of irradiation and corrosion.
  • Cryogenic Stress-Driven Grain Growth Observed via Microcompression with in situ
    Electron Backscatter Diffraction

    D. Frazer, J. L. Bair, E. R. Homer, P. Hosemann
    Journal of Materials 72, 2051 (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s11837-020-04075-x

    • What we did: We developed an in situ microcompression testing capability and applied it to the deformation of Cu.
    • What we learned: By keeping samples at in-situ conditions, stress-driven grain growth, consistent with previous predictions, was observed, as opposed to different mechanisms of deformation when ex situ measurements are performed.
    • Why it matters: Measurements in-situ, or under the conditions of interest, are critical for revealing key mechanisms of irradiation, corrosion, and/or deformation. This work highlights the need for in situ capabilities, such as those being developed by FUTURE.
  • Computational Thermodynamics: Application to Nuclear Materials

    C. Gueneau, B. Sundman, M. Asta
    Comprehensive Nuclear Materials (Second Edition) 1, 814 (2020).
    DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-803581-8.12054-5

    • What we did: We provide an overview of how computational thermodynamics methods are applied to the study of nuclear materials, reviewing approaches to understand phase equilibria and atomic scale methods to inform those models.
    • What we learned: While computational thermodynamics approaches are critical for understanding the complex materials systems in reactors, they depend on accurate thermodynamic quantities. While atomistic approaches can provide some of those values, it is critical to expand experimental capabilities to both validate models and provide data that is challenging to obtain by other methods.
    • Why it matters: Understanding the phase structure in the complex materials comprising nuclear reactor systems is critical for predicting performance and ensuring safety. This review highlights computational approaches to understanding that phase structure.
  • Kinetics of Crystallization and Orientational Ordering in Dipolar Particle Systems

    X.-Q. Xu, B. B. Laird, J. J. Hoyt, M. Asta, Y. Yang
    American Chemical Society (2020).
    DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.0c01152

FUTURE Secondary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was a secondary source of funding.


  • Corrosion characteristics of typical Ni-Cr alloys and Ni-Cr-Mo alloys in supercritical water: A review

    S. Guo, D. Xu, Y. Liang, Y. Li, J. Yang, G. Chen, D. Macdonald
    Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 59, 18727 (2020).
    DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.0c04292

    • What we did: In this work, the corrosion characteristics and mechanisms of Ni-based, corrosion-resistant alloys in sub- and super-critical water are reviewed and analyzed systematically.  
    • What we learned: Cr is the most important element in improving the general corrosion resistance of Ni-based alloys, but Mo can strongly improve the pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion resistances of Ni-based alloys.
    • Why it matters: This information is valuable for theoretically guiding material selection and design and operating parameter optimization of key equipment in the supercritical water technologies.
    • What was FUTURE’s role: FUTURE helped review the literature and interpret the results.
  • Kinetic study of hydrogen transport in graphite under molten fluoride salt environment

    J. Qiu, A. Wu, J. Yao, Y. Xu, Y. Li, R. Scarlat, D. D. Macdonald  
    Electrochimica Acta 352, 136459 (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2020.136459

    • What we did: In this work, a kinetic model, which describes the reactions occurring during the hydrogen charging process on a graphite surface in molten fluoride salts, was optimized against electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to study the entry of hydrogen (tritium) into graphite in high temperature molten salt environments.
    • What we learned: The surface coverage of absorbed hydrogen increases with decreasing charging potential and increasing moisture content in molten fluoride salts.  The adsorption efficiency (the fraction of hydrogen that absorbs into the graphite lattice) of hydrogen increases with increasing charging potential and decreases with increasing moisture content of the melts.
    • Why it matters: This work establishes electrochemical impedance spectroscopy as a useful approach for understanding tritium transport in graphite under molten salt conditions and thus expands our capability for understanding these extreme environments.
    • What was FUTURE’s role: FUTURE helped develop the kinetic model and interpret the results.
  • Point and extended defects in heteroepitaxial 𝞫-Ga2O3 films

    P. Saadatkia, S. Agarwal, A. Hernandez, E. Reed, I. D. Brackenbury, C. L. Codding, M. O. Liedke, M. Butterling, A. Wagner, F. A. Selim
    Physical Review Materials 4, 104602 (2020).
    DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.4.104602

    • What we did: We performed the first positron lifetime measurements of Ga2O3 films and combined PAS with thermally stimulated emission to identify the nature of point defects and measure their transition levels.
    • What we learned: We evaluated the depth distribution of point defects in oxides from depth resolved PAS measurements.  Nonuniform spatial distribution of defects and unexpected large vacancy clusters were revealed in the films despite their high structural quality. These defects are shown to have enormous effects on the oxide properties.
    • Why it matters: The work established the use and analysis of depth resolved positron lifetime measurements in characterizing point and extended defects in oxide films in general and revealed the role of point defects in controlling Ga2O3 properties, which is emerging as an important material in many fields.
    • What was FUTURE’s role: FUTURE helped in the analysis of positron annihilation spectroscopy data.
  • Proton Irradiation-Decelerated Intergranular Corrosion of Ni-Cr Alloys in Molten Salt

    W. Zhou, Y. Yang, G. Zheng, K. B. Woller, P. W. Stahle, A. M. Minor, M. P. Short
    Nature Communications 11, 3430 (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17244-y

    • What we did: We designed a unique experimental setup enabling simultaneous corrosion in molten salt and proton irradiation on the same Ni-Cr sample. We used advanced electron microscopy and machine-learning based image analysis to provide a statistically meaningful result.
    • What we learned: Proton irradiation will decelerate intergranular corrosion of Ni-Cr in molten salt environments due to radiation enhanced diffusion.
    • Why it matters: Our results show that in industrially-relevant scenarios irradiation can have a positive impact challenging the previous view that radiation damage always results in negative effects on corrosion.
    • What was FUTURE’s role: FUTURE members performed advanced transmission electron microscopy characterizations and machine-learning based large dataset analysis, providing strong evidence for the mechanism of proton irradiation slowing down intergranular corrosion in molten salt environments.

FUTURE Only

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was the sole source of funding.


  • Study of trap levels in β-Ga2O3 by thermoluminescence spectroscopy

    M. M. Islam, D. Rana, A. Hernandez, M. Haseman, F. A. Selim  
    Journal of Applied Physics 125, 55701 (2019). DOI: 10.1063/1.5066424

    • What we did: We developed thermoluminescence (TL) spectroscopy as a method to measure the transition levels of defects in the band gap of bulk oxides.
    • What we learned: TL is very effective in detecting and characterizing small levels of defects in oxides. Point defects and their transition levels in the band gap significantly impact the electronic properties of oxides.
    • Why it matters: The measurement method and analysis presented in this work can be applied to a wide range of oxides to reveal their defect content and characteristics, providing new insight into their properties and explaining interesting phenomena.

FUTURE Secondary

Publications for which the FUTURE EFRC was a secondary source of funding.


  • In situ small-scale mechanical testing under extreme environments

    A. Barnoush, P. Hosemann, J. Molina-Aldareguia, J. M. Wheeler
    MRS Bulletin 44, 471 (2019). DOI: 10.1557/mrs.2019.126
    • What we did: We reviewed small scale mechanical testing studies in extreme conditions such as radiation, temperature and hydrogen exposure. This paper summarizes recent and new exciting trends in the area and was an invited feature paper by the journal.
    • What we learned: We describe the challenges with high temperature, hydrogen content, high strain rate and irradiation small scale mechanical testing and that it is the combination of environments that make the materials property evaluation difficult.
    • Why it matters: Small scale mechanical testing has become an integral part of the material science toolbox and it is important to understand current trends and physical limitations.
  • Correlating high temperature mechanical and tribological properties of CrAlN and CrAlSiN hard coatings

    A. Drnovšek, M. Rebelo de Figueiredo, H. Vo, A. Xia, S. J. Vachhani, S. Kolozsvári, P. Hosemann, R. Franz
    Surface and Coatings Technology 372, 361 (2019).
    DOI: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2019.05.044
    • What we did: We grew CrAlN and CrAlSiN as coatings and evaluated the mechanical performance of these coatings at potential service temperatures.
    • What we learned: We learned that CrAlSiN performs better under these conditions than CrAlN and correlates nicely with wear properties. The hardness/elastic modulus ratio appears to be a good measure for the materials performance and can be used as a material design parameter.
    • Why it matters: Coatings are widely used to protect a material from its environment or enhance a materials wear in tooling, nuclear applications or any extreme environment. Developing a thorough understanding and design parameters to develop better performing coatings is key for designing coatings for nuclear applications.
  • Sink strength and dislocation bias of three dimensional microstructures

    A. A. Kohnert, L. Capolungo
    Physical Review Materials 3, 53608 (2019).
    DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.3.053608
    • What we did:  We created a three dimensional point defect transport model which includes absorption at sinks and energetic interactions between defects and elastic strain fields
    • What we learned: We learned that the configuration of the microstructure in a system changes the internal stress distribution. This in turn changes the transport of point defects, and the rates of defect absorption at different sinks.
    • Why it matters:  This work reveals the interactive effect between point defects produced by irradiation and the stress field in a material.  This allows us to investigate one of FUTURE’s key hypotheses: that the simultaneous action of extreme conditions changes material response from any one of the conditions applied individually.
  • Influence of nanochannel structure on helium-vacancy cluster evolution and helium retention

    W. Qin, S. Jin, X. Cao, Y. Wang, P. Peres,  S. Choi, C. Jiang, F. Ren
    Journal of Nuclear Materials 527, 151822 (2019).
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151822
    • What we did: We examined He retention and release in nanostructured tungsten through multiple characterization tools. 
    • What we learned: The presence of a nanochannel structure within the material accelerates the release of He from the film even at low irradiation fluences, and the release of He is significantly enhanced at higher fluences, thus inhibiting or delaying the formation of large He-vacancy clusters in the nanochannel W film.
    • Why it matters: The ability to mitigate He accumulation in materials via nanostructuring provides new routes to design materials that can withstand the extreme environments encountered in nuclear reactors.
  • Point Defect Model for the Corrosion of Steels in Supercritical Water: Part I, Film Growth Kinetics

    Y. Li, D. D. Macdonald, J. Yang, J. Qiu, S. Wang
    Corrosion Science 163, 108280 (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2019.108280
    • What we did: A Point Defect Model (SCW-PDM) has been developed to describe theoretically the corrosion of metals and alloys in supercritical aqueous systems.  The growth kinetics of the barrier layer of oxide scales, their total scale thickness, and the oft-reported growth of the barrier layer in supercritical water environments were explained using this SCW-PDM.
    • What we learned: Based on the SCW-PDM, the kinetic equation for each interfacial reaction and its related parameters are defined; solving these equations, the barrier layer is revealed to grow into the metal via the production of oxygen vacancies at the metal/barrier layer interface and their annihilation at the barrier layer/outer layer interface. The microscopic kinetic information on the corrosion and macroscopic kinetic parameters of several steels can be described successfully by SCW-PDM.
    • Why it matters: A model that simultaneously considers the predominant microscale reactions in low/high density SCWs, the effect of oxygen content, and finally completely describing the fundamental atomic-level growth of oxide scales on structural materials in supercritical aqueous systems is significant for the development of supercritical reactors.
  • Passivity of Titanium: Part II, The Defect Structure of the Anodic Oxide Film

    B. Roh, D. D. Macdonald          
    Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry 23, 1967 (2019).
    DOI: 10.1007/s10008-019-04254-0
    • What we did: The kinetic parameters for the formation of the anodic titanium oxide film on Ti in 0.5 M H2SO4 have been determined using potentiostatic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and the Mott-Schottky analysis (MSA), and the data are interpreted in terms of the point defect model (PDM).
    • What we learned: The barrier layer of the passive film on titanium is n-type in electronic character with the oxygen vacancy being found to be the dominant point defect (over metal interstitials) in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, and the oxygen vacancy concentration is found to exponentially decrease as the film formation voltage was increased.
    • Why it matters: Crystallographic point defects (metal and oxygen vacancies and metal interstitials) play a critical role in defining the properties of anodic oxide passive films that form on metal surfaces. It is important for titanium whose oxide is used extensively in many applications, such as heterogeneous catalysis, photoelectrolysis, and biomaterials.
  • The Passivity of TitaniumPart III: Characterization of the Anodic Oxide Film          

    B. Roh, D. D. Macdonald
    Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry 23, 2001 (2019).
    DOI: 10.1007/s10008-019-04255-z
    • What we did: The passive state and passive film thickness on titanium in 0.5 M H2SO4 at ambient temperature (22 °C) has been explored using a combination of ellipsometry, Mott-Schottky analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
    • What we learned: The thickness of the single (barrier) layer increases linearly with increasing formation voltage. The passive current density is found to be independent of film formation voltage, indicating an n-type film.
    • Why it matters: Investigating the properties (the structure, defect type, and thickness of the anodic oxide film grown on titanium over a wide potential) of anodic oxide passive films that form on titanium surfaces is important for the application of titanium for a number of applications.
  • Passivity of Titanium, Part IV: Reversible Oxygen Vacancy Generation/Annihilation

    B. Roh, D. D. Macdonald          
    Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry 23, 2863 (2019).
    DOI: 10.1007/s10008-019-04363-w
    • What we did: A simplified Point Defect Model incorporating reversible oxygen vacancy generation/annihilation at the metal/film interface has been used to investigate the impedance of anodized titanium in 0.5M H2SO4, the oxygen vacancy profile in the anodic titanium oxide film, and the surface oxygen vacancy concentration.
    • What we learned: A thin region of non-uniform oxygen vacancy concentration forms adjacent to the film/solution interface, which has an exponentially decreasing dopant concentration. The normalized surface oxygen vacancy concentration by the bulk oxygen vacancy concentration is essentially independent of potential.
    • Why it matters: This work provides for identifying which effect is the major cause for changing the kinetics of the OER on the passive surface of titanium in 0.5M H2SO4.
  • Ab initio based examination of the kinetics and thermodynamics of oxygen in Fe-Cr alloys

    A. J. Samin, D. A. Andersson, E. F. Holby, B. P. Uberuaga         
    Physical Review B 99, 174202 (2019).
    DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.99.174202
    • What we did: We created a cluster expansion model, based on DFT calculations, for oxygen in Fe-Cr alloys and used it to study oxygen kinetics as a function of alloy composition.
    • What we learned: Increasing Cr content initially leads to a decrease in oxygen mobility, which then rises again as more Cr content is added until decreasing again for pure Cr.
    • Why it matters: These results provide insight into how Cr impacts the mobility of oxygen that is relevant for the altered layer that occurs during corrosion.
  • First-principles localized cluster expansion study of the kinetics of hydrogen diffusion in homogeneous and heterogeneous Fe-Cr alloys

    A. J. Samin, D. A. Andersson, E. F. Holby, B. P. Uberuaga
    Physical Review B 99, 14110 (2019). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.99.014110
    • What we did: We created a cluster expansion model, based on DFT calculations, for hydrogen in Fe-Cr alloys and used it to study hydrogen kinetics as a function of alloy composition.
    • What we learned: Cr tends to decrease hydrogen mobility until a 50/50 Fe-Cr composition is reached, at which point it increases again; however, the distribution of Cr also matters.
    • Why it matters: Understanding hydrogen transport and solubility in metals is critical for developing hydrogen storage materials and uptake of hydrogen in nuclear environments.

Presentations at Conferences and Workshops

Kaspar, Optimization and characterization of isotopically-labeled, epitaxial Fe2O3 and Cr2O3 for diffusion studies, AVS 67 Virtual Symposium, Oct 25–28, 2021. (Contributed)

Derby, Characterizing the Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Iron Thin Films during Coupled Irradiation and Corrosion, MS&T, Oct 17-21, 2021. (Contributed)

Uberuaga, Radiation Enhanced Diffusion in Fe2O3 and Cr2O3, MS&T, Oct 17-21, 2021. (Invited)

Yang, Imaging Nanostructural Heterogeneities and Vacancy Supersaturation in Ni-20Cr after Corrosion in Molten Salt, MS&T, Oct 17-21, 2021. (Invited)

Taylor, Leveraging isotopic tracers to unravel atomic transport mechanisms, Atom Probe Tomography and Microscopy, Sep 27-30, 2021. (Invited)

Yano, Influence of Irradiation-Induced Defects on Anion Transport in Epitaxial Cr2O3, The Microscopy and Microanalysis, Jul 31-Aug 5, 2021. (Contributed)

Chan, Interfacial Corrosion Kinetics of Structural Materials in Molten Fluoride Salts, NACE-AMPP, Apr 19-30, 2021. (Contributed)

Uberuaga, Towards a model of coupled irradiation and corrosion, TMS, Mar 15-18, 2021. (Invited)

Derby, Synthesis and Irradiation Response of Hetero FeCr -Fe2O3 Interfaces, TMS, Mar 15-18, 2021. (Contributed)

Yano, Influence of Dose Rate and Temperature on Mass Transport in Chromia, TMS, Mar 15-18, 2021. (Contributed)

Uberuaga, New Insights into Radiation Damage Mechanisms Through Combined PAS and TEM Characterization, European MRS, May 31-Jun 4, 2021. (Invited)

Kaspar, Bulk and short-circuit anion diffusion in epitaxial Fe2O3 films quantified using buried isotopic tracer layers, Electronic Materials and Applications (EMA), Jan 19-22, 2021. (Contributed)

Taylor, Resolving mass transport behaviors using isotopic tracers, NRW International Meeting (Invited).

Winner, Ab-Initio Simulation Studies of Cr Solvation in Fluoride Molten Salts, ACS, Aug 17-20, 2020. (Contributed)

Owusu-Mensah, In Situ TEM Investigation of Irradiation Induced Amorphization of Fe Oxide, The Microscopy and Microanalysis, Aug 3-7, 2020. (Contributed)

Yano, Resolving atomic transport through iron oxide under irradiation using isotopic tracers, The Microscopy and Microanalysis, Aug 3-7, 2020. (Contributed)

Selim, The Structure and Electronic Environment of Vacancy Clusters in Ion Irradiated Fe-Cr Alloys, Thermec, May 31-Jun 5, 2020. (Invited)

Uberuaga, Non-destructive Interrogation of Ion Beam Damage Using Positrons, Thermec, May 31-Jun 5, 2020. (Contributed)

Uberuaga, New Insights into Radiation Damage Mechanisms through Combined PAS and TEM Characterization, eMRS, May 25-29, 2020. (Invited)

Han, Metal-ionic Phase Reactions in Molten Salt Ionic Liquids: Experimental, Thermodynamic and Kinetic Analysis of the Alteration of Preformed-oxide on Fe-Cr alloys, 149th TMS 2020 Annual Meeting. Feb 23-27, 2020 (Contributed)

Kohnert, Three Dimensional Rate Theory Models of Radiation Damage with Mechanical Fields, 149th TMS 2020 Annual Meeting, Feb 23-27, 2020 (Contributed)

Kohnert, A Virtual Experiment Approach to Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy, 149th TMS 2020 Annual Meeting, Feb 23-27, 2020 (Contributed)

Qiu, Macdonald, Hosemann, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopic (EIS) Study of Oxide Scales on Pure Iron in Liquid Lead-Bismuth Eutectic (LBE), 149th TMS 2020 Annual Meeting. Feb 23-27, 2020 (Contributed)

Selim, Quantitative Analysis of Atomic Scale Defects in Irradiated Materials, 149th TMS 2020 Annual Meeting, Feb 23-27, 2020. (Invited)

Schmidt, Design and Results of the Irradiation Corrosion Experiment (ICE), 149th TMS 2020 Annual Meeting, Feb 23-27, 2020 (Contributed)

Taylor, Structural and Chemical Heterogeneities at the Nanoscale Affecting Passive Film Formation During Irradiation-Corrosion, 149th TMS 2020 Annual Meeting, Feb 23-27, 2020 (Contributed)

Uberuaga, FUTURE: Fundamental Understanding of Transport Under Reactor Extremes, 149th TMS 2020 Annual Meeting, Feb 23-27, 2020. (Invited)

Yano, Thermal and Irradiation Driven Oxygen Transportation in Hematite, PNNL Post Graduate Research Symposium, 2020. (Contributed)

Han, Metal-ionic Phase Reactions in Molten Salt Ionic Liquids: Experimental, Thermodynamic and Kinetic Analysis of the Alteration of Preformed-oxide on Fe-Cr alloys, 236th Electrochemical Society Annual Meeting, Oct 14-17, 2019 (Contributed)

Selim, Depth Resolved Measurements of Atomic Scale Defects in Ion Irradiated Fe and Fe Alloys, The Microscopy and Microanalysis 2019, Aug 2019. (Invited)

TaylorLeveraging Isotopic Tracers to Reveal Mass Transport Behavior, 2nd APT Workshop for Earth Sciences, Goldschmidt Conference, Aug 2019. (Invited)

Taylor, Capturing Atom Exchange Fronts in the Fe(II)-catalyzed Recrystallization of Fe(III) (hydr)oxides using Isotopic Mapping Probes, 2nd APT Workshop for Earth Sciences, Goldschmidt Conference, Aug 2019. (Contributed)

UberuagaUnderstanding Defects in Materials -- Applications of Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy and 4D STEM, Frontiers of Structural Materials Workshop, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Aug 2019. (Invited)

SelimUnderstanding the Defect Structure in Irradiated Materials, EFRC PI Meeting, Jul 2019. (Invited)

Hosemann, Quantification of Pressure in Helium Bubbles via 4D STEM and Computer Simulations, EFRC PI Meeting, Jul 2019. (Invited)

Asta, Nuclear Materials, National Laboratory Chief Research Officer Materials Science Working Group Workshop on Materials Synthesis, Apr 2019. (Invited)

Hosemann, Materials in nuclear environments: a challenging but exciting field of research, 18th International Conference on Positron Annihilation, Orlando, Florida, Aug 19-24, 2018. (Invited)

News

  • (July, 2022) Angelica Lopez Morales, a FUTURE EFRC graduate student, has successfully defended her PhD and will be graduating from NCSU in August 2022.
  • (May, 2022) Yong Wang and Djamel Kaoumi, senior FUTURE EFRC members, presented on research capabilities at the International Conference on Accelerators for Research and Sustainable Development, an IAEA conference in Vienna, Austria.
  • (May, 2022) Farida Selim, a FUTURE EFRC Thrust Lead, was promoted to full professor at Bowling Green State University in April 2022, three years from her promotion to associate professor in 2019.
  • (April, 2022) Franziska Schmidt, a FUTURE EFRC graduate student, was hooded on May 18th during the doctoral ceremony in the Greek Theater at UC Berkeley and will complete her PhD in Nuclear Engineering in Fall 2022.
  • (March, 2022) Ho Lun Chan, a FUTURE EFRC graduate student at the University of Virginia, won first prize in the Harvey Hero Prize for Applied Corrosion Technology, at the AMPP 2022 conference, for his work in linking corrosion transport to microstructure and to electrochemistry.
  • (February, 2022) Farida Selim, a FUTURE Thrust Lead, led an publication, "The mechanism behind the high radiation tolerance of Fe-Cr alloys," that was selected by the Journal of Applied Physics as an Editor's Pick.
  • (February, 2022) Peter Hosemann, FUTURE's Deputy Director, was awarded a 2022 Brimacombe medal from the Minerals, Metals & Materials society (TMS). This award recognizes individuals with sustained excellence and achievement in business, technology, education, public policy, or science related to materials science and engineering who have a record of continuing service to the profession
  • (February, 2022) Ho Lun Chan's poster submission, "SPG-35: Discovering the Corrosion Mechanism of Chromium in High-temperature LiF-NaF-KF Molten Salts for Gen-IV Molten Salts Reactor Applications," has won the graduate division of the SMD Technical Division Student Poster Contest at the 2022 TMS conference.
Lun
  • (2019) Amitava Banerjee, a postdoctoral researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory working on the modeling of metal/oxide interfaces, was selected as a LANL Director's Postdoctoral Fellow.
  • (March 11, 2019) Mark Asta, FUTURE's Modeling Thrust Co-Lead, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and Materials Sciences Division Director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was awarded the TMS William Hume-Rothery Award 2019

FUTURE Staff

The staff of FUTURE features scientists, postdocs, students, and administrators from leading research institutions, including national laboratories and universities.

The science targeted by FUTURE requires a variety of techniques, both experimental and modeling, along with the associated expertise for success. Our scientists lead the way, developing the research plan and spearheading the scientific directions

Scientists of FUTURE: Leadership

Blas Pedro Uberuaga (LANL), Director (and Thrust 2 Lead)

Blas Uberuaga, a graduate of the University of Washington, examines radiation damage in complex oxides and nanostructured materials using computer simulations at the atomic scale, with a particular focus on understanding how defect evolution impacts radiation tolerance in such systems. He is also performing research into materials discovery for scintillators. He has published over 300 papers that have been cited more than 30,000 times. In addition to being the Director of FUTURE, he is simulating the kinetic properties of defects relevant to coupled irradiation and corrosion behavior in materials. In his spare time, he maintains an award-winning website on the culture of the Basque people in northern Spain and southern France and enjoys the occasional woodworking project, writing stories, and drawing.

Peter Hosemann (UCB), Deputy Director (and Thrust 2 Lead)

Peter Hosemann, a graduate from the Montanuniversität Leoben in Austria, investigates the fundamentals of mechanical and environmental degradation mechanisms of materials in radiation environments. He has published more than 140 papers cited 1400 times. In addition of being the Deputy Director of FUTURE, he is chair of the Nuclear Engineering Department at UC Berkeley. In his spare time he leads the UC Berkeley Blacksmithing effort, is engaged in the solar car racing team CALSOL and is in the leadership of the Austrian Scientists and Scholars in North America, Bay Area chapter.

Mark Asta (UCB), Thrust 1 Lead

 Mark Asta, a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, uses electronic-structure and atomic-scale-simulation methods to study the chemical, structural and dynamic properties of materials interfaces. He has published over 350 papers that have been cited nearly 35,000 times. In addition to being the modeling co-thrust lead of FUTURE, he is involved in the development of high-throughput calculations and data science approaches in the context of computationally aided materials design. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling on the roads of rural Northern California.

Sandra Taylor (PNNL), Thrust 1 Lead

 Sandra Taylor, a graduate of the University of Michigan, is an experimentalist studying the reactivity of solids at their interfaces with aqueous solutions to understand molecular-level processes controlling crystal growth, dissolution, and ion sorption onto surfaces. As part of the FUTURE project, she is characterizing and quantifying corrosion- and irradiation-induced chemical changes in materials using 3D atom probe tomography to describe the relevant fundamental mass transport phenomena. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and traveling.

Farida Selim (BGSU), Thrust 2 Lead

Farida Selim is an expert on defects and solid state physics. She obtained her PhD in a joint program between Harvard and Alexandria University and published more than 100 peer review journal articles. She is known for inventing a new positron annihilation spectroscopy technique (Gamma Induced Positron Spectroscopy). In addition to her research on positron annihilation and defect studies, she has active research programs on wide band gap oxides to explore novel electronic phenomena as well as building new instrumentation for defect and luminescence studies. Her outreach activities span from providing research internships for high school students and undergraduates to serving on many international advisory committees.  

Tiffany Kaspar (PNNL), Thrust 3 Lead

Tiffany Kaspar is a Senior Research Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.  Her research interests encompass the epitaxial growth (via molecular beam epitaxy or pulsed laser deposition) of metallic and metal oxide films to develop structure-property relationships such as dopant interactions, magnetic and electronic properties, and point and structural defects.  For FUTURE, she applies her expertise to synthesize model films and multilayers that provide a well-defined platform to understand fundamental radiation and corrosion phenomena.  She also participates in many STEM outreach activities, including STEM Ambassadors at PNNL.  In her free time, she enjoys camping and hiking in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Aaron Kohnert (LANL), Thrust 3 Lead

Aaron Kohnert is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. Aaron studies radiation damage effects in materials by applying mesoscale models of microstructural changes induced by extreme environment exposure. For the FUTURE project, he is developing a theoretical framework connecting point defect transport in irradiation environments to a linear elasticity approach to determine internal stress and strain states, allowing predictive models of mass transport near complex interfaces and boundaries under both thermal and irradiation conditions. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking.

Scientists of FUTURE: Senior Investigators

Laurent Capolungo (LANL)

Laurent Capolungo, a graduate of the Georgia Institute of technology, studies microstructure evolutions in metals subjected to extreme environments (radiation, corrosion, temperature, stress). He has developed a series of simulation tools to predict materials response and their connection with their microstructures. He has published over 80 papers that have been cited more than 2,500 times. In addition to his role in FUTURE, he is leading efforts to use computer assisted material design for high temperature and high stress environments.

Edward Holby (LANL)

Edward (Ted) F. Holby, a graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studies electrochemical systems using multiscale and quantum chemical modeling approaches. His efforts have been predominantly in the fields of corrosion and electrocatalysis for energy applications such as hydrogen fuel cells. As part of FUTURE, he will be using computational methods to understand oxide passivation of alloy systems and the thermokinetics of point defects important for dissolution and oxidation corrosion processes under irradiation. In his spare time, Ted enjoys gardening, woodworking, cooking, roasting coffee, and exploring the mountain trails of the Southwest.

Djamel Kaoumi (NCSU)

Djamel Kaoumi is an associate professor of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University specializing in radiation effects and degradation of structural alloys in nuclear reactor environments.  He obtained his PhD from Penn State and his MS from University of Florida, both in Nuclear Engineering doing research in Nuclear Materials. His undergraduate degree in Physics was obtained in France where he comes from. His research interests revolve around developing a mechanistic understanding of microstructure property relationships in nuclear materials, with an emphasis on microstructure evolution under harsh environment (i.e. irradiation, high temperature, and mechanical stress) and how it can impact the macroscopic properties and performance. As part of FUTURE, he will contribute his expertise in radiation damage characterization particularly using in-situ irradiation in a TEM, a technique of predilection for him. In his spare time, he enjoys looking for fine ingredients and trying world cuisine recipes at home.

Nan Li (LANL)

Nan Li received his PhD degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station. Through utilizing in situ and ex situ mechanical straining, ion irradiation tests, he examines the interaction behavior of defects with various heterogeneous phase boundaries, and how such defect phenomena influence mechanical properties. He has over 90 peer-reviewed publications, two of which were awarded ScienceDirect TOP25 Hottest Articles in Materials Science. He has been awarded TMS Best Graduate Student Paper Award, ACTA Award and LANL Distinguished Postdoctoral Performance Award, LAAP Award and TMS Young Leader Professional Development Award.

Andrew Minor (UCB)

Andrew Minor is a Professor at the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and also holds a joint appointment at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where he is the Facility Director of the National Center for Electron Microscopy in the Molecular Foundry. He received a BA in Economics and Mechanical Engineering from Yale University and his MS and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from U.C. Berkeley. He has co-authored over 175 publications and presented over 130 invited talks on topics such as nanomechanics, lightweight alloy development, characterization of soft materials and in situ TEM technique development. His honors include the LBL Materials Science Division Outstanding Performance Award (2006 & 2010), the AIME Robert Lansing Hardy Award from TMS (2012) and the Burton Medal from the Microscopy Society of America (2015).

Raluca Scarlat (UCB)

Raluca Scarlat is an assistant professor at UC Berkeley, in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. Professor Scarlat has a PhD in Nuclear Engineering from UC Berkeley and a BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Cornell University. Raluca’s research focuses on chemistry, electrochemistry and physical chemistry of high-temperature inorganic fluids and their application to energy systems. She has experience in design and  safety analysis of fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs) and Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs), and high-temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGRs). Her research includes safety analysis, licensing and design of nuclear reactors and engineering ethics.

Daniel K. Schreiber (PNNL)

Daniel Schreiber joined PNNL in 2011 after completing his PhD in Materials Science from Northwestern University. His research applies high-resolution microscopy to study grain boundary chemistry in structural alloys and high temperature oxidation/corrosion phenomena. This work leverages site-specific, focused ion beam (FIB) – based specimen preparation methods and atom probe tomography (APT) to generate unique insights into the fundamental mechanisms controlling material degradation at the nanoscale. In his free time, Dan enjoys exploring wine country in the Pacific Northwest.

John Scully (UV)

John R. Scully is the Charles Henderson Endowed Chaired Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department Head of Materials Science and Engineering at UVA. His research focuses on investigating the metallurgical, interfacial, and surface film properties as well as environmental factors which combine to govern and regulate corrosion phenomena. He has published over 250 papers in this area which have been cited over 11,000 times. In his spare time, he is editor of CORROSION, The Journal of Science and Engineering.

Elizabeth Sooby (UTSA)

Dr. Elizabeth Sooby is an Associate Professor in the department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Texas at San Antonio.  Dr. Sooby is an expert in fuels synthesis and testing, particularly uranium compound fabrication and high temperature oxidation testing. Prior to coming to UTSA in 2017, Dr. Sooby was appointed as a staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory where she also held a Seaborg Postdoctoral Fellowship in Actinide Science following graduation with her Ph.D. in Physics from Texas A&M in December 2014. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS.  She is the principle investigator of the Extreme Environments Materials Laboratory, a unique facility she developed at UTSA, which is a 2,000 square foot radiological laboratory space dedicated to nuclear materials fabrication and testing.

Yongqiang Wang (LANL)

Yongqiang Wang is Director of the Ion Beam Materials Laboratory (IBML) at LANL. He has 30 years research experience in the field of ion beam analysis, ion beam modification, and ion irradiation damage of materials.   He has co-authored more than 280 peer reviewed publications including three book chapters and two US patents.  He is a co-editor for the Handbook of Modern Ion Beam Materials Analysis (MRS Publisher 2009) and a co-author of a textbook on Ion Beam Analysis: Fundamentals and Applications (CRC Press, 2015).  

Kayla Yano (PNNL)

Kayla H. Yano received a PhD from the Department of Materials Engineering at Purdue University. Her research has utilized in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) mechanical testing to examine deformation mechanisms and microstructural evolution of irradiated materials for structural applications. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and teaching her dogs new tricks.

Scientists of FUTURE: Other Scientists and Technical Staff

Matthew (Matt) Chancey (LANL)

Matt Chancey is a Sorcerer working in the Ion Beam Materials Laboratory (IBML) under Yongqiang Wang. He is the main operator and maintainer of the 3 MV Tandem accelerator. He is experienced in the fields of ion beam damage studies, materials modification, and analysis. For FUTURE, Matt is part of the team developing and testing the in-situ positron annihilation spectroscopy(iPAS) capability. He is also involved with the varied irradiation and corrosion experiment(ICE)s and most other FUTURE related irradiations performed in the IBML. In his free time, he is an avid fly fisherman and tier, he enjoys skiing, and he generally loves most things outdoors—since he spends most of his working hours under-ground.

Ben Derby (LANL)

Ben Derby is a graduate of The University of Michigan. While there, he studied bicontinuous interfaces in immiscible thin film alloys for enhanced strength and radiation tolerance through the use of physical vapor deposition (PVD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning/transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM), focused ion beam (FIB) techniques, and ion implantation. Under thrust-1 of FUTURE, he is contributing to the synthesis of model system thin films and in situ characterization of defects in irradiated and corroded structural alloys. In his spare time, he enjoys flying airplanes, woodworking, motorcycling, and spending time with his best friends, Sydney and Gus.

Hyosim Kim (LANL)

Dr. Hyosim Kim is a graduate of the Texas A&M University’s nuclear engineering department. She has been studying radiation damage in various materials especially nuclear materials such as ODS alloys by using ion accelerator, nanoindenter and electron microscopies such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), atom probe tomography (APT), and focused ion beam (FIB). She is experienced in operating and maintaining tandem ion accelerator for radiation damage studies and ion beam analysis; in using electron microscopies for damage and defects characterization; and in operating FIB to fabricate TEM lamellas, APT needles and micro pillars. For the FUTURE project, she is developing an in-situ positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) system on 3 MV NEC tandem accelerator and is also assisting with irradiation and corrosion experiments in liquids. She enjoys painting and playing guitar in her spare time.

Elizabeth Peterson (LANL)

Elizabeth Peterson, a graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, uses ab initio electronic structure methods for simulations of functional materials. Her research focuses on modeling the effects of point defects and interfaces on the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of materials, ranging from quantum materials to materials for applied energy applications. For FUTURE she is conducting research on how point defects affect the structural and electronic properties of oxide-oxide interfaces. In her free time she enjoys long distance trail running in the mountains of Northern New Mexico.

Elena Romanovskaia

Dr. Elena Romanovskaia is a postdoctoral researcher in materials science and engineering at the University of Virginia, working on Thrust 3 of the FUTURE project. She is a graduate of Belarusian State Technological University (BSTU), Minsk, Belarus. She defended her PhD thesis in Physical Chemistry at State Scientific Institution “Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry of National Academy of Sciences of Belarus” (IGIC NAS of Belarus). For the FUTURE project, Elena is utilizing advanced electrochemical methods to investigate the corrosion mechanism and survivability of passivated and irradiated nuclear reactor alloys in extreme environments. She is investigating the effect of room temperature ionic liquids and the molten salts on the thermally formed oxide layer by using electrochemical techniques and surface characterization (XRS, Raman, XRD). She loves traveling, singing, learning languages watching and doing sport.

Postdocs do the hard work of delivering on the science.

Jijo Christudasjustus (PNNL)

Dr. Jijo Christudasjustus is a post-doctoral researcher in the Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He finished his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University. His expertise is in understanding the microstructure-corrosion property relationship using transmission electron microscopy and surface-sensitive techniques such as XPS and ToF-SIMS on lightweight alloys, high-entropy alloys, and additively manufactured stainless steels. For the FUTURE project, Jijo will synthesize epitaxial thin films of metals and oxides by molecular beam epitaxy as model systems. These films will be utilized to study the coupled effects of irradiation effect and corrosion for materials relevant to next-generation nuclear reactor designs. Apart from research, he likes to sketch and explore new places and food during his leisure.

Peter Hatton (LANL)

Peter Hatton is a postdoctoral researcher in the Materials Science and Technology division at Los Alamos National Lab (LANL). Peter gained his PhD in 2021 from Loughborough University in Mathematical Modeling. In his PhD he modeled the key production steps in Cadmium Telluride solar cells and elucidated the mechanisms underpinning the experimental processes. Within FUTURE, Peter uses atomistic modeling techniques to investigate the synergistic nature of compositional and structural heterogeneities in complex oxides. His work focuses on identifying the key mechanisms for defect transport in these materials. Outside of work, Peter is a passionate musician and also enjoys cooking/baking in his free time.

Adric Jones (BGSU)

Adric is a post-doctoral researcher at Bowling Green State University. He is helping to design a positron beam system for the in situ study of radiation damage in shielding materials under thrust-1 of FUTURE. In his spare time he likes to play billiards and go hiking.

Mira Khair (UTSA)

Dr. Mira Khair is a Postdoctoral researcher at the Extreme Environments Materials Laboratory within the departments of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Texas at San Antonio since September 2023. Her research focuses on materials fabrication (UN, UB2, alloys) and the characterization of their microstructure. Prior to joining UTSA, Dr. Khair served as a Postdoc Researcher at the University of Lille, where she worked on UMo microstructural characterization in collaboration with Framatome. In December 2019, she defended her thesis in Physical-Chemistry of Condensed Materials at the University of Bordeaux, France. The entirety of her thesis work was conducted at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), concentrating on the fabrication of innovative UO2 fuel for Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) to enhance corrosion resistance of the fuel cladding and introduce a new fuel to the nuclear market

Sara Mastromarino (UCB)

Sara Mastromarino is a Post-Doc at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) while she is finishing her PhD in nuclear engineering at Delft University of Technology. Sara spent two years during her PhD at the European Commission-Joint Research Centre working on the chemical and thermo-physical characterization of high temperature molten salt fuels and coolants. She was involved in the international project SAMOFAR for the development of MSFRs. At UCB Sara works on the elemental and physico-chemical  characterization of molten salts. She is involved in a broad range  of projects:  high temperature optical spectroscopy, elemental analysis and digestion methods of molten halides, measurements of liquid density of molten salts, and molten salt tribology and rheology. She overall supports the group with design and planning for the experimental infrastructure (e.g.design of a glove-box train for beryllium-containing and actinide-containing molten salts). Outside of the office, she is a passionate triathlete and she gained top places in several running competitions.   

Sean Mills (UCB)

Sean Mills is a graduate of Colorado School of Mines. While there, he studied strengthening and deformation mechanisms in corrosion-resistant NiTiHf alloys designed for space-age tribological applications through the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) techniques. Under thrust-2 of FUTURE, he is contributing to in situ characterization of defects in irradiated and corroded structural alloys coupled with atomic resolution strain mapping. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing, climbing and golf.

Franziska Schmidt (LANL)

Franziska Schmidt is a postdoc at Los Alamos National Laboratory and studies corrosion phenomena and radiation damage in heavy liquid metal and molten salt environments. In her free time, she hunts fossils and goes climbing.

Ryan Schoell (NCSU)

Ryan Schoell is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the department of Nuclear Engineering at North Carolina State University working with Dr. Djamel Kaoumi. Ryan earned his PhD in Nuclear Engineering under the guidance of Dr. Djamel Kaoumi studying the mechanism of chlorine-induced stress corrosion cracking of commercial 304. Ryan also has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering form Ohio State University. Ryan will be working on radiation damage of metal/metal oxide systems. In his free time, Ryan enjoys hiking and hanging out with friends.

A key aspect of any large project such as FUTURE is developing the next generation of researchers.

Nathan Bieberdorf (UCB)

Nathan Bieberdorf is a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, working on the modeling cross-thrust of FUTURE. Nathan is developing a mesoscale model for microstructure evolution in structural materials subjected to extreme environments. In his free time, Nathan enjoys playing soccer, traveling, and going to concerts.

Ho Lun Chan (UVA)

Ho Lun Chan (Lun) is  a PhD student in materials science and engineering at the University of Virginia, working on Thrust 3 of the FUTURE project. Mentored by Dr. John Scully, Lun is utilizing advanced electrochemical methods to investigate the corrosion mechanism and survivability of passiviated & irradiated nuclear reactor alloys in extreme environments. Lun has a strong passion for corrosion research, entrepreneurship, and enjoys cooking in his spare time.

Thai hang Chung (ASU)

Thai hang Chung is a PhD student at Arizona State University, aiding in the deployment of in-situ positron beamlines to study nanoscale defects as they are created during ion irradiation. He is currently involved in developing software and instrumentation for the data analysis and data acquisition systems on the beamline. In his spare time, he enjoys drawing, exploring the outdoors, and is a bedroom musician.

Santiago De Stefano Cavazos (UTSA)

Santiago de Stefano Cavazos M.S Mechanical Engineering student at University of Texas San Antonio. Working on alloy modeling of nickel chrome and iron chrome.

Ryan Hayes (UCB)       

Ryan Hayes is a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley. His studies focus on the surface interactions between molten salts and various materials, measuring the contact angle between the two in order to assess the effects of corrosion on a material’s wettability. In his free time, Ryan loves playing tennis, card/board games, and learning to cook.

Andrea Hwang (UCB)  

Andrea is a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Professor Mark Asta. She works on the modeling thrust of FUTURE. Currently, Andrea is using molecular dynamics and ab-initio methods to investigate molten salt/metal interfaces.

Dmitry Kretov (NCSU) 

Dmitrii Kretov is a PhD student at the North Carolina State University advised by Dr. Djamel Kaoumi. His research focuses on studying thermally-induced and irradiation-induced grain growth in nanocrystalline materials using in-situ TEM. In his spare time, he enjoys soccer, ping pong, and skateboarding.

Dongye Liu (UCB)

Dongye Liu is a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Professor Andrew Minor. Her study is under FUTURE thrust 2. Dongye is utilizing 4DSTEM techniques and high resolution STEM-EDS to investigate the population and evolution of nano defects in metallic materials under extreme environments.

Shivani Srivastava (UCB)

Shivani Srivastava is a graduate student from the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Prof. Mark Asta. Her research focuses on understanding materials behavior emerging from presence of point defects, using ab-initio calculations. In FUTURE, she is also involved in modelling the characteristics of positron annihilation used for characterizing defects in materials under irradiation.

 

To ensure that the science staff of FUTURE do not become too narrow in their focus and miss important directions or ideas, we have enlisted a team of world leaders to advise our project.

FUTURE project alumni have continued to further the work in their fields

Sahil Agarwal (BGSU)

Sahil Agarwal  Sahil is a PhD student at the Bowling Green State University. He is currently working on positron annihilation spectroscopy to understand the effect of irradiation and corrosion damage on the defect characteristics of materials under thrust-1 of FUTURE. He likes cooking and working out at gym in his free time. Always looking for a partner to play chess.

Rasheed Auguste (UCB)          

Rasheed is a graduate student from the University of California, Berkeley. Rasheed works on the point defects thrust of FUTURE to study irradiation’s effect on motion of point defects in materials. He enjoys soccer, bookstores, and traveling in his spare time.

Amitava Banerjee

Amitava Banerjee was a postdoctoral researcher in MST-8 at LANL under the guidance of Blas Uberuaga and Edward Holby. Amitava worked on the modeling cross-cutting thrust of FUTURE to study defect thermodynamics and kinetics within the metal and the oxide and at their interface as it pertains to corrosion mechanisms. In his free time, he enjoys photography, cycling and collecting stamps.

TS Byun

TS Byun, who has earned degrees from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science, studied radiation effects on the deformation and cracking behavior of reactor materials and helped to develop radiation-resistant high temperature materials. He has published over 100 papers cited more than 25 times on average. As a previous thrust leader in FUTURE, he led the studies on the mass transport of alloying elements and corrosion species in irradiated and corroded microstructures using advanced characterization tools. He doesn’t mind golfing on a freezing winter day, and though he has never reached a single digit handicap after well over a decade, he is lucky enough to have once shot a hole-in-one.

Jacob Cooper

Jacob Cooper was a PhD student at North Carolina State University, advised by Dr. Djamel Kaoumi. Jacob previously worked on point defects thrust of FUTURE to study the accumulation of point defects in materials under irradiation. In his free time, he enjoys golf and traveling.

Junsoo Han

Dr. Junsoo Han is a graduate of Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris (ENSCP), France. He has been investigating the microstructural effect on the electrochemistry of a multi-phase alloy system as a member of the European Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) project. His research has focused on the dealloying and elemental dissolution mechanism by using the atomic emission spectroelectrochemistry (AESEC) technique. He has developed the novel combination of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with AESEC (EIS-AESEC) and the gravimetric hydrogen measurement with AESEC. For the FUTURE project, he investigated the effect of aqueous solution, room temperature ionic liquids and the molten salts on the thermally formed oxide layer by using electrochemical techniques and surface characterization. He loves traveling, reading and learning languages.

Riley Ferguson (BGSU)

Riley Ferguson is a graduate student at Bowling Green University currently advised by Dr. Farida Selim. He is helping with the design of a positron beam system for studying radiation damage on materials under Thrust 1. He has played trumpet for the past 15 years, enjoys hiking, camping, snowboarding, and jazz improvisation.

Sabrina Hadinoto

Sabrina Hadinoto is a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. Sabrina was the program manager for the FUTURE and NEAMS program at Los Alamos National Laboratory between 2020-2022. Prior to her time at Los Alamos National Laboratory, she was a venture capital and private equity investment professional. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and the University of California Los Angeles. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and nature walks with her husband and their rescue dog, Molly.

Md Minhazul Islam (BGSU)

Md Minhazul Islam is a PhD student in Photochemical Science program at Bowling Green State University. He studies oxide based semiconductor materials and characterization of point defects by different optical and electrical techniques. He is currently working on investigating 'open volume type' point defects in materials under Thrust-1 of FUTURE project. He likes drawing, biking, traveling, watching movies and reading books.

Timothy Lach

Timothy G. Lach, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and The Ohio State University, used advanced characterization techniques like aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and atom probe tomography (APT) to study the microstructural evolution of structural and radiological materials subjected to extreme environments. During his time as an early career scientist as part of the FUTURE-EFRC, he characterized the chemical and structural evolution of materials in coupled corrosive and radiation environments using STEM and isotope-sensitive APT. In his spare time, Tim enjoys cheering on his Buckeyes and playing park league softball, basketball, and ultimate disc.

Hanna Lorica

Hanna Lorica   Hanna Lorica is a recent graduate from UC Berkeley and a staff member in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. She provides administrative support to Chair Peter Hosemann's research projects, including Thrust 3 activities. When not at work, she enjoys taking trips, watching movies and singing to musicals.

Digby Macdonald

Digby D. Macdonald is a native of New Zealand, a naturalized US citizen, and is a Professor in Residence (semi-retired) in the Departments of Nuclear Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.  He specializes in the growth and point defect structures of thin oxide films on metal surfaces under extreme environmental conditions and developed the Point Defect Model for describing the physico-electrochemistry of such systems.  He has also developed the modern theory of stress corrosion cracking, corrosion fatigue, and pitting corrosion in terms of the Coupled Environment Models.  One of his major activities has been the modeling of the electrochemical and corrosion properties of structural materials in the coolant circuits of operating, water-cooled nuclear power reactors and recently modeled for DOE the coolant circuit of the ITER that is currently being built in Cadarache, France.  ITER is the World’s first fusion technology demonstration reactor.  He has also contributed to developing the science base for the disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste in the US (Yucca Mountain), Belgium, and Sweden.  Prof. Macdonald has published more than 1,000 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Society of New Zealand (the “National Academies” of those countries, and is a Member of the EU Academy of Sciences.  He enjoys a H-index of 77 and his papers have been cited 25,504 times.

Ian Jeanis (BGSU)

Ian Jeanis is a graduate student at Bowling Green University currently advised by Dr. Selim. He is helping with the design of a positron beam system for studying radiation damage on materials under Thrust 1. In his free time, he likes to watch anime, play games, and enjoy a nice session of Dungeon and Dragons.

Angelica Lopez Morales (NCSU)

Angelica is currently a PhD student at the Nuclear Engineering department of North Carolina State University under the supervision of Dr. Djamel Kaoumi. Angelica holds a Bachelor of Science in Energy and Nuclear Technologies (with honors) from the Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technologies (InSTEC) in La Havana (Cuba), where she also obtained a University Teacher’s Certificate. Angelica joined Dr. Kaoumi’s group in 2019 and will contribute to the EFRC by studying radiation damage in non-passivating systems.

Malachi Nelson (UCB)

Malachi is a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, currently studying the thermophysical properties of molten salts and corrosion of structural materials. He earned a M.S. in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. In his free time, Malachi enjoys hiking, cooking, rock climbing, and snowboarding.

Samikshya Prasai (BGSU)

Prasai is a graduate student in Physics at Bowling Green State University. She is currently doing  research in Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (PAS) for the study of defects in thin film semiconductors. Her major interest resides in the manipulation of defects to enhance the properties of materials.

Martin Owusu-Mensah

Martin Owusu-Mensah was previously a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Nuclear Engineering department of North Carolina State University under the guidance of Dr. Djamel Kaoumi. Martin holds a PhD in Nuclear Energy from the University of Paris-Saclay, France, where he worked on Understanding the first formation stages of Y,Ti oxides in Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) steels using ion implantation. Martin also holds a Master’s degree certificate from the same university in the field of Nuclear Energy specializing in Nuclear Power Plant Design. In addition, Martin also holds Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and technology, Ghana. Prior to his graduate studies, Martin worked for a year as a teaching and research assistant and has undertaken many different internships at different times. Martin previously worked on radiation damage in metal/oxide interfaces in the realm of this EFRC.

Jie Qiu

Jie Qiu  Jie Qiu is a graduate of Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China. Jie has been investigating the corrosion of materials in molten fluoride salts for approximately 7 years. He is experienced in high temperature molten salts and skilled in analyzing materials by different techniques, including scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and synchrotron radiation techniques. In FUTURE, he istudied the corrosion of materials in high temperature molten salt and/or high pH alkaline solutions using electrochemical methods. In his spare time, he likes reading about history and playing basketball.

Evan Still (UCB)

Evan Still is a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Prof. Peter Hosemann, where he investigates the applications of data mining techniques for atom probe tomography. Evan has spent time at both PNNL and Sandia, where he has focused on precipitate identification and hydrogen diffusion. In his free time he enjoys swing dancing, baking, and drawing

Sarah Wang (UCB)      

Sarah Wang is a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Professor Andrew Minor. She specializes in using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study how irradiation and corrosion affect the strain state of nuclear engineering materials.

Haley Williams (UCB)

Haley Williams is a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley. She uses electrochemistry to probe salt properties and composition and to investigate corrosion for molten fluoride salts. In addition to her research, Haley enjoys swimming, baking, being outside, and reading.

Nicholas Winner (UCB)

Nicholas Winner is a graduate student from the University of California, Berkeley, advised by Mark Asta. Nick works on the modeling thrust of FUTURE to study interfacial behavior between non-aqueous liquids and structural materials. Before starting graduate studies, Nick worked at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnology at Los Alamos National Laboratory for his summer internship. He enjoys golf in his spare time and is an avid cook of Northern Indian cuisine.

Nathan Velez

Nathan Velez is a USAF veteran and received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley where he studied mechanical properties of polymeric materials. Using the technique he developed for testing freestanding polymer thin films, Nathan  discovered a process that greatly enhances the ductility in typically brittle polymer glasses, such as polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate. Outside of the lab, Nathan is an avid skydiver, guitarist, chess player, and whiskey aficionado.

Marlene Wartenberg

Marlene Wartenberg  Marlene Wartenberg studied the corrosive behavior of oxide films as affected by molten salt and ionic liquid environments under Dr. John Scully. In her free time, she studies languages and draws digitally.

Yang Yang

Dr. Yang was formerly a postdoc at National Center for Electron Microscopy (NCEM) in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He received his PhD degree from the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. His research interests include advanced electron microscopy characterization of materials degradation under extreme environments, as well as developing advanced computation tools for understanding interfacial dynamics during ion radiation in solids. He is one of the main developers of IM3D, a full-3D Monte Carlo (MC) simulation tool for ion radiation in matter. Yang's previous work for the EFRC included the application 4D-STEM technique to study point defects evolution in materials after molten salt corrosion. He enjoys photography and traveling in his spare time.

Nadia Zaragoza (LANL)

Nadia Zaragoza is a graduate of Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. Advised by Blas Uberuaga at Los Alamos National Laboratory, she is working on molecular dynamics simulations of surface diffusion in FeCr thin films used to study radiation damage in structural materials for nuclear reactors. In her free time, she enjoys knitting, roller skating, and playing music.

Science in a project like FUTURE is only enabled with the help of people behind the scenes that keep the wheels turning

Advisory Board Members

Grace Burke
(Idaho National Laboratory)

Baptiste Gault  Baptiste Gault
(Max-Planck-Institut for Eisenforschung GmbH)

Amit Misra
(University of Michigan)

Dane Morgan
(University of Wisconsin)

Raul Rebak
(GE Global Research)

Kurt Sickafus
(Los Alamos National Laboratory)