Irradiation-induced precipitation in binary palladium-refractory metal alloys

A study of irradiation-induced precipitation (IIP) has been carried out on a series of palladium-based alloys containing tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum and niobium, irradiated with 400-keV protons over the temperature range 65 to 750 degrees C. The microstructures observed are described in detail and discussed in the light of recently proposed mechanisms of IIP. It is concluded that the IIP of tungsten and molybdenum at interstitial dislocation loops must occur as a consequence of strong interstitial solute atom binding, and that the observation of this phenomenon in the percent tungsten alloy represents the first clear-cut example of such binding in an alloy containing an oversized solute