A Zr₃(Al_0.9Si_0.1)C₂ MAX phase-based ceramic with 22 wt.% ZrC and 10 wt.% Zr₅Si₃ has been irradiated with 52 MeV I⁹⁺ ions at room temperature, achieving a maximum dose of 8 displacements per atom (dpa). The response of this MAX phase-rich material to irradiation has been studied using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. Post-irradiation examination of the material revealed a number of crystalline changes to the MAX phase. At low doses, Zr₃(Al_0.9Si_0.1)C₂ maintained a high degree of crystallinity, while at the highest doses, its degree of crystallinity was reduced significantly. A number of radiation-induced phase transformations were observed, including the decomposition of Zr₃(Al_0.9Si_0.1)C₂ into ZrC and other phases, and the formation of β-Zr₃(Al,Si)C₂, a MAX phase with a rearranged stacking sequence. Microstructural examination revealed that the majority of the extended defects in Zr₃(Al_0.9Si_0.1)C₂ lie in the (0001) basal planes. Analysis of X-ray diffraction profiles after heat treating the 8 dpa-irradiated material for 1 h at 300 °C and at 600 °C showed that there were only subtle changes to the profiles relative to that of the 8 dpa-irradiated material which had not been heat treated. Overall, the experimental results of this study show that the Zr₃(Al_0.9Si_0.1)C₂ MAX phase responds less well to irradiation relative to other MAX phases irradiated with high energy heavy ions at room temperature.

已在室温下用52 MeV I ⁹⁺离子辐照Zr ₃（Al _0.9 Si _0.1）C ₂ MAX相基陶瓷，该陶瓷具有22 wt。％的ZrC和10 wt。％的Zr ₅ Si ₃。每个原子8个位移（dpa）。已经使用扫描电子显微镜，透射电子显微镜和X射线衍射技术研究了这种MAX富相材料对辐照的响应。对该材料进行辐照后检查显示，MAX相发生了许多结晶变化。低剂量时Zr ₃（Al _0.9 Si _0.1）C ₂保持较高的结晶度，而在最高剂量下，其结晶度显着降低。观察到许多辐射诱导的相变，包括Zr ₃（Al _0.9 Si _0.1）C ₂分解为ZrC和其他相，以及形成β- Zr ₃（Al，Si）C ₂，即MAX相。重新排列的堆叠顺序。显微组织检查表明，Zr ₃（Al _0.9 Si _0.1）C ₂的大部分扩展缺陷位于（0001）基础平面中。在300°C和600°C下对8 dpa辐照的材料进行热处理1 h后的X射线衍射图分析表明，相对于8 dpa辐照的材料，X射线衍射图谱仅发生了细微变化。未经热处理。总体而言，这项研究的实验结果表明，与在室温下用高能重离子辐照的其他MAX相相比，Zr ₃（Al _0.9 Si _0.1）C ₂ MAX相对辐照的响应较差。