Morphological and structural properties of neutron-irradiated B12C3 boron carbide microcrystals

Boron carbide B12C3 microcrystals were neutron irradiated at four different fluences, namely at 1.09, 2.19, 3.28 and 4.38 x 10(16) n cm(-2). The structural properties were studied by means of Raman spectroscopy, revealing that the neutron induced structural defects are focused toward the interstitial chains of B12C3. The morphology of the B12C3 samples was studied by means of secondary electron imaging showing that the neutron irradiation did not modify the size distribution of the microcrystals.