MIT researchers have developed a technique that allows scientists to watch, in real time, how materials corrode and crack inside a nuclear reactor environment.
The method, powered by high-intensity X-rays, could help engineers design safer reactors that last longer and perform better.
Studying how materials fail under radiation has long challenged scientists. Traditionally, researchers could only examine samples after removing them from harsh environments.
Ericmoore Jossou, who holds appointments in MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and the Schwarzman College of Computing, said the new approach changes that.
“We are interested in watching the process as it happens. If we can do that, we can follow the material from beginning to end and see when and how it fails. That helps us understand a material much better,” he said.
Watching failure as it happens
The team simulated reactor conditions by firing an intense, focused X-ray beam at nickel samples, a metal used in alloys inside advanced reactors. The challenge lay in preparing the samples.
As the nickel heated, it reacted with its silicon base, creating a compound that derailed the experiment.
Researchers solved the problem by inserting a thin silicon dioxide buffer between the nickel and the substrate.
This prevented unwanted reactions but initially created a new strain within the crystals. Phase retrieval algorithms, normally used to reconstruct 3D crystal shapes, could not handle the excess strain.
Then came a surprise. Leaving the X-ray beam on longer gradually relaxed the strain due to the buffer layer.
The crystals stabilized, allowing algorithms to capture their 3D structure during failure.
“No one had been able to do that before,” Jossou said. “Now that we can make this crystal, we can image electrochemical processes like corrosion in real time, watching the crystal fail in 3D under conditions that are very similar to inside a nuclear reactor. This has far-reaching impacts.”
The advance could transform nuclear engineering. “If we can improve materials for a nuclear reactor, it means we can extend the life of that reactor. It also means the materials will take longer to fail, so we can get more use out of a nuclear reactor than we do now,” Jossou said.
David Simonne, lead author and MIT postdoc, said the new imaging approach offers nanoscale resolution.
“Only with this technique can we measure strain with a nanoscale resolution during corrosion processes,” he said. “Our goal is to bring such novel ideas to the nuclear science community while using synchrotrons both as an X-ray probe and radiation source.”
Beyond nuclear reactors
The work also produced an unexpected benefit. The team discovered they could tune the strain inside a crystal using X-rays.
This has implications for microelectronics, where strain engineering boosts electrical and optical performance.
“With our technique, engineers can use X-rays to tune the strain in microelectronics while they are manufacturing them. While this was not our goal with these experiments, it is like getting two results for the price of one,” Jossou said.
Looking ahead, the researchers plan to apply the method to more complex alloys used in nuclear and aerospace systems. They also aim to test how different buffer thicknesses influence strain control.
Edwin Fohtung, associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, said the discovery stands out for two reasons. “First, it provides fundamental insight into how nanoscale materials respond to radiation—a question of growing importance for energy technologies, microelectronics, and quantum materials. Second, it highlights the critical role of the substrate in strain relaxation, showing that the supporting surface can determine whether particles retain or release strain when exposed to focused X-ray beams.”
The study is published in the journal Scripta Materiala.