[en] The sputtering process will play an obvious role with nuclear and thermonuclear materials due to their continuing exposure to fission fragments, fast neutrons, or helium ions. Sputtering is only in part a simple collisional process, however, and at least two variants must be recognized. These are congruent thermal sputtering, which can also be described as ion-impact induced vaporization, and preferential sputtering, as when a U₃0₈ surface evolves towards U₄0₉ and/or U0₂ during bombardment. Considering a selected group consisting of 11 metals together with their various oxides, the following conclusions can be reached: (a) congruent collisional sputtering is not expected to occur to an unusual extent with any of the materials except possibly Mg, Th, and U; (b) congruent thermal sputtering will also be largely absent, though with Mo0₃ and Mg as important exceptions; in effect, the vapour pressures of species such as Mo₃0₉ are sufficiently high for vaporization to be stimulated by thermal spikes; (c) preferential sputtering is observed to be an important process with Mo0₃, Nb₂0₅, Ni0, and U₃0₈, the surfaces of which evolve respectively to Mo0₂, Nb0, Ni, and U₄0₉ and/or U0₂ during bombardment. A similar evolution of UC to C has been inferred in work by Krakowski and of Fe₂0₃ to Fe₃0₄ is predicted here. The result is that in all cases that surfaces, including both external and bubble surfaces, may have unexpected corrosion, electrical, or transport properties. (author)