Nanoscale imaging of Li and B in nuclear waste glass, a comparison of ToF-SIMS, NanoSIMS, and APT: Nanoscale imaging of Li and B in nuclear waste glass

Journal Article · Thu Jun 02 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Surface and Interface Analysis

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.6049· OSTI ID:1342330

Wang, Zhaoying ^[1]; Liu, Jia ^[2]; Zhou, Yufan ^[3]; Neeway, James J. ^[4]; Schreiber, Daniel K. ^[4]; Crum, Jarrod V. ^[4]; Ryan, Joseph V. ^[4]; Wang, Xue-Lin ^[5]; Wang, Fuyi ^[6]; Zhu, Zihua ^[2]

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1. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Beijing Centre for Mass Spectrometry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 China; Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA 99352 USA
2. Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA 99352 USA
3. Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA 99352 USA; School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials & Key Laboratory of Particle Physics and Particle Irradiation (MOE), Shandong University, Jinan 250100 China
4. Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA 99352 USA
5. School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials & Key Laboratory of Particle Physics and Particle Irradiation (MOE), Shandong University, Jinan 250100 China
6. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Living Biosystems, Beijing Centre for Mass Spectrometry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 China

It has been very difficult to use popular elemental imaging techniques to image Li and B distribution in glass samples with nanoscale resolution. In this study, atom probe tomography (APT), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) were used to image the distribution of Li and B in two representative glass samples. APT can provide three-dimensional Li and B imaging with very high spatial resolution (≤ 2 nm). In addition, absolute quantification of Li and B is possible, though room remains to improve accuracy. However, the major drawbacks of APT include limited field of view (normally ≤ 100 × 100 × 500 nm³) and poor sample compatibility. As a comparison, ToF-SIMS and NanoSIMS are sample-friendly with flexible field of view (up to 500 × 500 μm² and image stitching is feasible); however, lateral resolution is limited to only about 100 nm. Therefore, SIMS and APT can be regarded as complementary techniques for nanoscale imaging Li and B in glass and other novel materials.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US), Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1342330
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-115059; 47580; 48181; KP1704020
• Journal Information: Surface and Interface Analysis, Journal Name: Surface and Interface Analysis Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 48; ISSN 0142-2421
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
APT
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
NanoSIMS
ToF-SIMS
boron
lithium
nanoscale imaging
nuclear waste glass