Decomposition of metal carbides in the presence of ion irradiation in high-temperature conditions

The authors assess the physical and chemical changes occurring in titanium carbide and niobium carbide diffusion coatings as a result of irradiation and radiolysis by beams of helium ions. The investigation, whose purpose was to assess the carbides as candidate materials for thermonuclear reactor components, explores the dissociation, ionization, and oxidation of the materials from a molecular and electronic structural standpoint using mass spectroscopy, and also looks comprehensively at the formation of oxycarbides as a result of ion irradiation