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ANSTO Publications Online

Welcome to the ANSTO Institutional Repository known as APO.

The APO database has been migrated to version 8.3. The functionality has changed, but the content remains the same.

ANSTO Publications Online is a digital repository for publications authored by ANSTO staff since 2007. The Repository also contains ANSTO Publications, such as Reports and Promotional Material. ANSTO publications prior to 2007 continue to be added progressively as they are in identified in the library. ANSTO authors can be identified under a single point of entry within the database. The citation is as it appears on the item, even with incorrect spelling, which is marked by (sic) or with additional notes in the description field.

If items are only held in hardcopy in the ANSTO Library collection notes are being added to the item to identify the Dewey Call number: as DDC followed by the number.

APO will be integrated with the Research Information System which is currently being implemented at ANSTO. The flow on effect will be permission to publish, which should allow pre-prints and post prints to be added where content is locked behind a paywall. To determine which version can be added to APO authors should check Sherpa Romeo. ANSTO research is increasingly being published in open access due mainly to the Council of Australian University Librarians read and publish agreements, and some direct publisher agreements with our organisation. In addition, open access items are also facilitated through collaboration and open access agreements with overseas authors such as Plan S.

ANSTO authors are encouraged to use a CC-BY licence when publishing open access. Statistics have been returned to the database and are now visible to users to show item usage and where this usage is coming from.

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    Nanoparticles of uranium and rare earth elements in polymetallic mine waste
    (Elsevier, 2026-06-15) Sanyal, SK; Etschmann, BE; Brugger, J; de Vega, RG; Moro, TT; Wong, V; Baggott, K; Clases, D; Paton, L
    Waste from metal mining is a global and escalating issue. Risks are particularly severe for reactive minerals, which, upon exposure to oxygen, water and/or microbial activity, can cause widespread contamination (e.g., acid drainage from sulfide oxidation). This study investigates the nature of colloids within historic U-REE-Cu-rich mine wastes from Mount Painter in the Northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia. The primary mineralogical hosts of uranium (torbernite) and rare earth elements (monazite-(Ce)) are phosphate minerals, which are insoluble phases typically considered to limit U and REE mobility in groundwater. However, single particle ICP-MS analysis revealed substantial concentrations of polymetallic nanoparticles enriched in U-REE-(Fe) and concentrated within the surface layers (0-10 cm) of the waste. Microbial diversity is highest near the surface, which is interpreted to promote the dissolution of phosphate minerals and the transformation of liberated metals into nanoparticles. This correlation suggests the potential for microbial consortia to extract metals from stable minerals and transform them into environmentally mobile colloidal forms, with significant implications for the biogeochemical cycling and environmental management of metals such as U and REE released by mining of both base metals and critical minerals. © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. Open Access CC BY 4.0.
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    Hot compressive deformation of W-modified FeCr2V-based medium entropy alloys: microstructure and strengthening mechanism studies
    (Elsevier, 2024-04) Wang, YF; Wang, ZY; Zhu, HL; Qiu, ZJ; Pan, ZX; Zhu, HT; Wexler, D; Chen, XH; Zhang, MX; Li, HJ
    The microstructure and mechanical properties of FeCr2VWx (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) manufactured using arc melting under an argon atmosphere were investigated. The investigated FeCr2VWx (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3) MEAs exhibited a dual-phase microstructure consisting of body-centred-cubic (BCC) phases. With the further addition of W, additional W-rich phase formed in the microstructure of the FeCr2VW0.5 sample. Compression tests at the ambient and elevated temperatures revealed that the compressive performance of the MEAs improved with the introduction of W. Among them, FeCr2VW0.3 demonstrated an exceptional combination of enhanced strength and ductility, showing the yield strength of 1452 MPa at ambient temperature and 627 MPa at 1223 K as well as compression reduction over 30% at both temperatures. These compressive properties are comparable to those of existing low activation refractory high-entropy alloys. The excellent high-temperature performance was attributed to the enhanced strengthening effects of precipitation and solid-solution resulting from W addition. Moreover, it was found that during the hot deformation process FeCr2VWx MEAs with higher W contents (above 0.3) resulted in more work hardening than that of the lower W contents, and required more dynamic recrystallization to achieve the dynamic equilibrium. These results provide valuable insights for the future development and microstructural engineering of new MEAs. © 2024 Elsevier Inc.
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    Tropical wet season runoff mobilises younger carbon in rainforest streams but older carbon in agricultural streams
    (Copernicus Publications, 2026-03-04) Duvert, C; Solano, V; Cendón, DI; Ulloa-Cedamanos, F; McDonough, LK; Spencer, RGM; Munksgaard, NC; Hutley, LB; Moquet, JS; Butman, DE
    Knowledge of the age of organic carbon (C) that is leached from soils to streams is key to understanding how C is mobilised within ecosystems. The tropics are characterised by significant C fluxes through streams, yet the time scales of organic C sequestration and export remain uncertain in these regions. Here we examined the concentration, composition and age of dissolved organic C (DOC) in 18 small mountainous catchments of the Australian humid tropics, including six rainforest and 12 agricultural catchments, sampled during both the dry and wet seasons. We found that DOC ages varied widely across sites but were generally centuries to millennia old (median ± standard deviation 1553±848 years BP), with no consistent differences between rainforest and agricultural catchments. However, the two land use categories diverged in their responses to high flow conditions, with DOC age in rainforest streams tending to decrease from 1878±604 years BP in the dry season to 708±791 years BP in the wet season, whereas agricultural streams mobilised similarly aged or older DOC in the wet season (1728±641 years BP) than in the dry season (1303±1036 years BP). A subset of dissolved inorganic C (DIC) samples collected from three of the catchments (both rainforest and agricultural) indicated that DIC was mostly modern (123±136 years BP) and always younger than DOC. These differences in DIC and DOC ages suggest a partial decoupling between DOC and DIC export pathways, with DOC derived from older soil C pools, while DIC reflected recent C inputs from vegetation uptake and decomposition. Our results highlight the importance of seasonal shifts in the age of C export and the need to conduct sampling that encompasses seasonality in human-impact studies to better constrain C pools and sinks. © Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
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    X-ray quantification of oxygen groups on diamond surfaces for quantum applications
    (IOP Publishing, 2023-10-30) Dontschuk, N; Rodgers, LVH; Chou, JP; Evans, DA; O’Donnell, KM; Johnson, HJ; Tadich, A; Schenk, AK; Gali, A; de Leon, NP; Stacey, A
    Identifying the surface chemistry of diamond materials is increasingly important for device applications, especially quantum sensors. Oxygen-related termination species are widely used because they are naturally abundant, chemically stable, and compatible with stable nitrogen vacancy centres near the diamond surface. Diamond surfaces host a mixture of oxygen-related species, and the precise chemistry and relative coverage of different species can lead to dramatically different electronic properties, with direct consequences for near-surface quantum sensors. However, it is challenging to unambiguously identify the different groups or quantify the relative surface coverage. Here we show that a combination of x-ray absorption and photoelectron spectroscopies can be used to quantitatively identify the coverage of carbonyl functional groups on the {100} diamond surface. Using this method we reveal an unexpectedly high fraction of carbonyl groups (>9%) on a wide range of sample surfaces. Furthermore, through a combination of ab initio calculations and spectroscopic studies of engineered surfaces, we reveal unexpected complexities in the x-ray spectroscopy of oxygen terminated diamond surfaces. Of particular note, we find the binding energies of carbonyl-related groups on diamond differs significantly from other organic systems, likely resulting in previous misestimation of carbonyl fractions on diamond surfaces. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd - Open Access CC-BY 4.0.
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    Hydrated alkali-B 11 H 14 salts as potential solid-state electrolytes
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021-06-21) Souza, DHP; Møller, KT; Moggach, SA; Humphries, TD; D'Angelo, AM; Buckley, CE; Paskevicius, M
    Metal boron–hydrogen compounds are considered as promising solid electrolyte candidates for the development of all-solid-state batteries (ASSB), owing to the high ionic conductivity exhibited by closo- and nido-boranes. In this study, an optimised low cost preparation method of MB11H14·(H2O)n, (M = Li and Na) and KB11H14 is proposed and analysed. The formation of the B11H14− salt is pH-dependent, and H3O+ competes with small ionic radii cations, such as Li+ and Na+, to produce a hydronium salt of B11H14−, which forms B11H13OH− upon heating. The use of diethyl ether to extract B11H14− salt from the aqueous medium during synthesis is an important step to avoid hydrolysis of the compound upon drying. The proposed method of synthesis results in LiB11H14 and NaB11H14 coordinated with water, whereas KB11H14 is anhydrous. Hydrated LiB11H14·(H2O)n and NaB11H14·(H2O)n exhibit exceptional ionic conductivities at 25 °C, 1.8 × 10−4 S cm−1 and 1.1 × 10−3 S cm−1, respectively, which represent some of the highest solid-state Li+ and Na+ conductivities at room temperature. The salts also exhibit oxidative stability of 2.1 V vs. Li+/Li and 2.6 V vs. Na+/Na, respectively. KB11H14 undergoes a reversible polymorphic structural transition to a metastable phase before decomposing. All synthesised nido-boranes decompose at temperatures greater than 200 °C. © © 2021 The Author(s). Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry