A potentially enhanced radiation resistance of nanocrystalline materials, as a consequence of the high density of interfaces and surfaces, has attracted much attention both to understand the fundamental role of these defect sinks and to develop them for high-radiation environments. Here, irradiation response of nanocrystalline A 2 Ti 2 O 7 (A = Gd, Ho and Lu) pyrochlore powders with grain sizes of 20-30 nm was investigated by 1-MeV Kr 2+ ion bombardment. In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the critical amorphization fluence for each nanocrystalline compound at room temperature was greater than that for their coarsegrained counterparts, indicating an enhanced amorphization resistance. The effect of temperature on the irradiation response of one of these compounds, nanocrystalline Lu 2 Ti 2 O 7 , was further examined by performing ion irradiation at an elevated temperature range of 480 to 600 K. The critical amorphization temperature (T c) was found to be noticeably higher in nanocrystalline Lu 2 Ti 2 O 7 (610 K) than its coarse-grained counterpart (480 K), revealing that nanocrystalline Lu 2 Ti 2 O 7 is less resistant to amorphization compared to its coarse-grained phase under high temperatures. We interpret these results with the aid of atomistic simulations. Molecular statics
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