Atomic-scale cryogenic microscopy to understand degradation of vitrified waste

The primary framework of this project is in the vitrification process that is used to encapsulate and stabilize high-level radioactive waste in a glass form, for long term safe, storage. Understanding the corrosion mechanisms involved in the reactions between glass and atmospheric water vapor conditions is fundamental to long-term assessment of nuclear waste glasses.

For this project you will focus on innovative cryogenic sample preparation to target specific regions of interest at altered corrosion layers of glass and perform atomic-scale microscopy using our world-unique infrastructure.

While some analyses of corrosion can be carried out in-situ, nuclear waste storage approval requirements are on the time scale of hundreds if not thousands of years. Synthesized ancient glasses provide an opportunity to study natural corrosion processes which are intermediate in time span between geological natural glasses and short-term laboratory tests lasting a few hours to several decades.