Materials for Fusion and Fission Energy

Openings

We welcome motivated students and collaborators. Opportunities are available for PhD students, undergraduate research assistants, and visiting students. If you’re interested, please email jliu@eng.famu.fsu.edu with your CV, transcripts and a brief statement of interests.

News

Group photo in front of the new IRCB building

Group photo at the new IRCB building

September 16, 2025

We celebrated our start at the Interdisciplinary Research & Commercialization Building (IRCB) with a group photo.

People

Principal Investigator

Junliang Liu

Assistant Professor of Materials Science & Engineering

Email: jliu@eng.famu.fsu.edu

Office Phone: (850) 410-6181

Graduate Students

Mushfique Mahmood

PhD student, enrolled Fall 2025

MS in Mechanical Engineering, Washington State University

Email: mm25cd@fsu.edu

Morakinyo Akin-Adamu

PhD student, enrolled Fall 2025

BS in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, University of Lagos

Email: ma25be@fsu.edu

Undergraduate Students

Kylie Galiger

Senior undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering, Florida State University

Email: kng22a@fsu.edu

Zachary Melvin

Senior undergraduate, Mechanical Engineering, Florida State University

Email: zem22a@fsu.edu

Research Areas

Effect of magnetic fields on material degradation

We study how strong magnetic fields affect corrosion and other degradation processes in structural materials. This helps us better understand challenges in fusion reactors, where powerful magnets are a key part of the system.

Liquid metal corrosion (Li, Ga, Sn, Na)

Our group tests how different liquid metals interact with advanced materials. These studies are important for future nuclear technologies that use liquid metals as coolants or breeder materials.

Aqueous corrosion of zirconium alloys

We investigate how zirconium alloys behave in water-based environments, similar to those in light-water reactors. The goal is to improve the durability and safety of materials used in today’s nuclear energy systems.

Teaching

Materials for Nuclear Engineering (MAE/EML 4930/5930, 3 credits)

This course introduces students to the principles governing the behaviour of materials in both nuclear fission and fusion reactor environments. It begins with an overview of the major reactor components and the demanding service conditions experienced by structural materials. Students then review fundamental concepts in materials science—including crystal structures, lattice defects, dislocation theory, thermodynamics, and phase diagrams—which serve as the foundation for analysing degradation mechanisms under nuclear operating conditions. Building on this framework, the course examines how irradiation, corrosion, elevated temperatures, and high magnetic fields influence microstructural evolution and mechanical performance, highlighting the complex challenges associated with designing and selecting materials for advanced nuclear energy systems.

Accessible Equipment

(S)TEM: An aberration-corrected JEOL ARM-200F microscope equipped with dual EELS (electron energy loss spectroscopy) and EDX (energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) detectors. The instrument will soon be upgraded with a direct electron 4D-STEM detector from Quantum Detectors, enabling advanced nanoscale mapping of orientation, strain and electric fields.

FIB-SEM: A Thermo Fisher Helios G4 dual-beam instrument equipped with Oxford Instruments EBSD and EDX systems. This platform is widely used for correlative EBSD-EDX-SEM analysis and site-specific TEM sample preparation.

Software: Advanced analysis tools include Thermo Scientific Avizo for 3D reconstruction, visualization, and quantitative analysis of tomography and serial-section datasets, as well as Oxford Instruments MapSweeper (pattern-matching EBSD pattern indexing, coming soon).

Superconducting Magnet: An 8.5 tesla, 20 cm bore magnet integrated with a high-temperature furnace is available to the group and located at the MagLab. The system is cryocooled, eliminating the need for large volumes of liquid helium and substantially reducing operating costs.

Customized Furnace for Magnets: A furnace capable of operating up to 1000 °C under controlled atmosphere and pressure, specifically designed for compatibility with the superconducting magnet to enable in-field corrosion and high-temperature degradation studies.

Gloveboxes: Multiple glovebox systems are available, some integrated with tube furnaces, for handling air- and moisture-sensitive materials. These systems allow corrosion testing and materials processing under controlled atmospheres without exposure to air.

Metallurgy Laboratory: A fully equipped metallographic preparation facility that includes automatic and manual polishers, vibration polishers, hot and cold mounting presses, high- and low-speed precision saws, hardness testers, and bench-top light microscopes. These capabilities support a broad range of sample preparation and characterization needs.

Publications

2025

J. Liu, F. Xue, W. Zhang, H. Zhang, P. Frankel, G. Lucadamo, W. Howland, M. Moody, P. Bagot, C. Grovenor, E. A. Marquis, A. Couet, Evidence for hydrogen and oxygen diffusion through grain boundaries in autoclave formed oxides on Zircaloy-4: A correlative APT and TEM study, Corrosion Science, 253 (2025) 112981.
Y. Sun, G. M. Hughes, J. Bu, J. Liu, C. R. M. Grovenor, P. S. Grant, Visualizing the Li distribution in an all-solid-state battery composite electrode using combined plasma focused-ion beam microscopy and secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, Micron, 190 (2025) 103746.

2024

J. Liu, H. Myers, B. Young, A. Leide, J. Wade-Zhu, C. Grovenor, D. Armstrong, Liquid lithium corrosion of SiC/SiC composites, Materialia, 34 (2024) 102062.
K. Rivers, B. Young, Y. T. Tang, B. S. Li, A. J. Wilkinson, D. E. J. Armstrong, J. Liu*, Oxidation behaviour of Ti-V-Cr-Nb-Ta and Al-Ti-V-Cr-Ta refractory high entropy alloys: Effects of Nb and Al substitutions, Materials & Design, 246 (2024) 113370.
N. Srivastava, G. A. B. Matthews, J. Liu, S. C. Speller, C. R. M. Grovenor, S. Santra, Effect of dopant solubility and excess doping on the superconducting properties of doped Nb₃Sn prepared by field assisted sintering technique, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 1002 (2024) 175526.
Z. Gao, J. C., N. Tutt, Y. Shi, J. Liu, C. R. M. Grovenor, D. A. Cardwell, J. H. Durrell, S. C. Speller, Microstructure of superconducting hetero-joints between single-grained Gd–Ba–Cu–O bulk superconductors, Superconductor Science and Technology, 38 (2024) 015029.

2023

J. Liu, B. Li, H. Gardner, Y. Gong, F. Liu, G. He, M. Moorehead, C. Parkin, A. Couet, A. Wilkinson, D. Armstrong, Origin of Age Softening in the Refractory High-Entropy Alloys, Science Advances, 9 (2023) eadj1511.
Z. Ning, G. Li, D. Melvin, Y. Chen, D. S. Jolly, J. Liu, J. Bu, J. Perera, C. Gong, X. Gao, S. Pu, S. Zhang, B. Hu, G. Hartley, A. Bodey, R. Todd, P. Grant, D. Armstrong, T. J. Marrow, C. Monroe, P. Bruce, Dendrite Initiation and Propagation in Lithium Metal Solid-State Batteries, Nature, 618 (2023).
H. Xu, W. Ji, J. Jiang, J. Liu, R. Yu, B. Tu, J. Zhang, J. Zou, W. Wang, J. Wu, Z. Fu, Contribution of boundary non-stoichiometry to the lower-temperature plasticity in high-pressure sintered boron carbide, Nature Communications, 14 (2023) 4889.
J. Liu, R. J. Scales, B. Li, M. Goode, B. A. Young, A. J. Wilkinson, D. E. J. Armstrong, Controlling microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-V-Cr-Nb-Ta refractory high entropy alloys through heat treatments, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 932 (2023) 167651.
G. He, H. Yu, P. Karamched, J. Liu, F. Hofmann, Elastic Strain Associated with Irradiation-Induced Defects in Self-ion Irradiated Tungsten, Scripta Materialia, 237 (2023) 115687.
C. Gong, S. D. Pu, S. Zhang, Y. Yuan, Z. Ning, S. Yang, X. Gao, C. Chau, Z. Li, J. Liu, L. Pi, B. Liu, I. Capone, B. Hu, D. L. R. Melvin, M. Pasta, P. G. Bruce, A. W. Robertson, The role of an elastic interphase in suppressing gas evolution and promoting uniform electroplating in sodium metal anodes, Energy & Environmental Science, (2023).
Y. T. Tang, C. Panwisawas, B. M. Jenkins, J. Liu, Z. Shen, E. Salvati, Y. Gong, J. N. Ghoussoub, S. Michalik, B. Roebuck, P. A. J. Bagot, S. Lozano-Perez, C. Grovenor, M. P. Moody, A. M. Korsunsky, D. M. Collins, R. C. Reed, Multi-length-scale study on heat treatment response to supersaturated nickel-based superalloys: Precipitation reactions and incipient recrystallisation, Additive Manufacturing, 62 (2023) 103389.

2022

M. Siniscalchi, J. Liu, J. Gibson, S. Turrell, J. Aspinall, R. Weatherup, M. Pasta, S. Speller, C. Grovenor, On the relative importance of Li bulk diffusivity and interface morphology in determining the stripped capacity of metallic anodes in solid-state batteries, ACS Energy Letters, 7 (2022) 3593.
X. Gao, B. Liu, B. Hu, Z. Ning, J. Perera, J. Bu, J. Liu, C. Doerrer, E. Darnbrough, D. Armstrong, P. S. Grant, P. G. Bruce, Solid-state lithium battery cathodes operating at low pressures, Joule, 6 (2022) 636.
S. D. Pu, C. Gong, Y. T. Tang, Z. Ning, J. Liu, S. Zhang, Y. Yuan, D. Melvin, S. Yang, L. Pi, J. Marie, B. Hu, M. Jenkins, Z. Li, B. Liu, S. C. E. Tsang, T. J. Marrow, R. C. Reed, X. Gao, P. G. Bruce, A. W. Robertson, Achieving Ultrahigh-Rate Planar and Dendrite-Free Zinc Electroplating for Aqueous Zinc Battery Anodes, Advanced Materials, 2022, 2202552.
I. Al-Dhahir, R. Kealy, S. Kelly, M. Yu, S. McNab, K. Collett, J. Liu, C. Grovenor, P. R. Wilshaw, R. S. Bonilla, ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol., 11 (2022) 063010.
A. Petkov, D. Cherns, W. Chen, J. Liu, J. Blevins, V. Gambin, M. Li, D. Liu, M. Kuball, Structural Stability of β-Ga₂O₃ under ion irradiation, Applied Physics Letters, 121 (2022) 171903.

2021

J. Liu, G. He, A. Callow, K. Li, K. L. Moore, H. Nordin, M. Moody, S. Lozano-Perez, C. R. M. Grovenor, The role of β-Zr in Zr-2.5Nb alloys during aqueous corrosion: A multi-technique study, Acta Materialia, 215 (2021) 117042.
N. Sakai, R. Warren, F. Zhang, S. Nayak, J. Liu, S. V. Kesava, Y. H. Lin, H. S. Biswal, X. Lin, C. Grovenor, T. Malinauskas, A. Basu, T. D. Anthopoulos, V. Getautis, A. Kahn, M. Riede, P. K. Nayak, H. J. Snaith, Adduct-based p-doping of Organic Semiconductors, Nature Materials, 20 (2021) 1248.
J. Liu, K. Li, S. Lozano-Perez, C. R. M. Grovenor, Site-specific specimen preparation for NanoSIMS analysis of radioactive samples, Journal of Microscopy, 282 (2021) 73.
K. Li, T. Aarholt, J. Liu, H. Hulme, A. Garner, M. Preuss, S. Lozano-Perez, C. Grovenor, 3D-characterization of deuterium distributions in zirconium oxide scale using high-resolution SIMS, Applied Surface Science, 464 (2021) 311.
D. Liu, D. Cherns, S. Johns, Y. Zhou, J. Liu, W. Chen, I. Griffiths, C. Karthik, M. Li, M. Kuball, J. Kane, W. Windes, A macro-scale ruck and tuck mechanism for deformation in ion-irradiated polycrystalline graphite, Carbon, 173 (2021) 215.
H. Yu, S. Das, J. Liu, J. Hess, F. Hofmann, Surface terraces in pure tungsten formed by high temperature oxidation, Scripta Materialia, 173 (2021) 110.
S. J. Turrell, S. Zekoll, J. Liu, C. R. M. Grovenor, S. C. Speller, Optimization of a potential manufacturing process for thin-film LiCoO₂ cathodes, Thin Solid Films, 736 (2021) 138888.
H. Yu, P. Karamched, S. Das, J. Liu, K. Mizohata, F. Hofmann, New perspectives on collision cascade damage in self-ion irradiated tungsten from HR-EBSD and ECCI, Journal of Nuclear Materials, 554 (2021) 153074.
X. Tao, K. Zhang, D. Gregory, J. Liu, H. E. Assender, Device Optimization and Large-Scale Roll-to-Roll Manufacturability of Flexible Thin-Film Thermoelectric Generators, Energy Technology, 9 (2021) 2001008.
C. Doerrer, I. Capone, S. Narayanan, J. Liu, C. R. M. Grovenor, M. Pasta, P. S. Grant, High Energy Density Single Crystal NMC/Li6PS5Cl Cathodes for All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 13 (2021) 37809.
A. Shah, A. P. Nicholson, T. A. M. Fiducia, A. Abbas, R. Pandey, J. Liu, C. Grovenor, J. M. Walls, W. S. Sampath, A. H. Munshi, Understanding the copassivation effect of Cl and Se for CdTe grain boundaries, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 13 (2021) 35086.
T. Mousavi, I. Slattery, B. Jagger, J. Liu, S. Speller, C. Grovenor, Development of sputtered nitrogen-doped Li₁₊ₓAlₓGe₂₋ₓ(PO₄)₃ thin films for solid-state batteries, Solid State Ionics, 364 (2021) 115613.

2020

J. Liu, K. Li, J. Sayers, T. Aarholt, G. He, H. Hulme, A. Garner, M. Preuss, H. Nordin, J. Partezana, M. Limbäck, S. Lozano-Perez, S. Ortner, C. Grovenor, Characterisation of deuterium distributions in corroded zirconium alloys using high-resolution SIMS, Acta Materialia, 200 (2020) 581.
J. Liu, A. Haq Mir, G. He, M. Danaie, J. Hinks, S. Donnelly, H. Nordin, S. Lozano-Perez, C. R. M. Grovenor, In-situ TEM study of irradiation-induced damage mechanisms in monoclinic-ZrO₂, Acta Materialia, 199 (2020) 429.
K. Li, J. Liu, C. R. M. Grovenor, K. L. Moore, NanoSIMS Imaging and Analysis in Materials Science, Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry, 13 (2020) 273.
G. Matthews, J. Liu, C. R. M. Grovenor, P. S. Grant, S. C. Speller, Design and characterisation of ex-situ bulk MgB₂ superconductors containing a nanoscale dispersion of artificial pinning centres, Superconductor Science and Technology, 33 (2020) 034006.
N. Saravanan, P. Karamched, J. Liu, E. Burger, F. Scenini, S. Lozano-Perez, Using local GND density to study SCC initiation, Ultramicroscopy, 217 (2020) 113054.

2019

J. Liu, H. Yu, P. Karamched, J. Hu, G. He, D. Goran, G. M. Hughes, A. J. Wilkinson, S. Lozano-Perez, C. Grovenor, Mechanism of the α-Zr to hexagonal-ZrO transformation and its impact on the corrosion performance of nuclear Zr Alloys, Acta Materialia, 179 (2019) 328.
J. Hu, J. Liu, S. Lozano-Perez, C. Grovenor, M. Christensen, W. Wolf, E. Wimmer, E. V. Mader, Hydrogen pickup during oxidation in aqueous environments: the role of nano-pores and nano-pipes in zirconium oxide films, Acta Materialia, 180 (2019) 105.
Y. Tang, P. Karamched, J. Liu, J. Haley, R. Reed, A. Wilkinson, Formation Mechanism and Quantification of Grain Boundary Serration in Nickel-based Superalloy Inconel 600, Acta Materialia, 181 (2019) 325.
J. Liu, S. Lozano-Perez, A. J. Wilkinson, C. Grovenor, Depth resolution of transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD), Ultramicroscopy, 205 (2019) 5.
J. Liu, S. Lozano-Perez, P. Karamched, J. Holter, A. Wilkinson, C. Grovenor, Forescattered electron imaging of nanoparticles in scanning electron microscopy, Materials Characterization, 155 (2019) 109814.
J. Liu, G. He, J. Hu, Z. Shen, M. Kirk, M. Li, E. Ryan, P. Baldo, S. Lozano-Perez, C. Grovenor, Irradiation-induced amorphization in the zirconium suboxide on Zr-0.5Nb alloys, Journal of Nuclear Materials, 513 (2019) 226.
A. Couet, L. Borrel, J. Liu, J. Hu, C. Grovenor, An integrated modeling and experimental approach to study hydrogen pickup mechanism in zirconium alloys, Corrosion Science, 159 (2019) 108134.
H. Yu, J. Liu, P. Karamched, A. J. Wilkinson, F. Hofmann, Mapping the full lattice strain tensor of a single dislocation by high angular resolution transmission Kikuchi diffraction (HR-TKD), Scripta Materialia, 164 (2019) 36.
G. He, J. Liu, K. Li, J. Hu, A. H. Mir, S. Lozano-Perez, C. Grovenor, Investigating the stability of Second Phase Particles in Zr-Nb alloys under irradiation, Journal of Nuclear Materials, 526 (2019) 151738.
Z. Shen, J. Liu, K. Arioka, S. Lozano-Perez, On the role of intergranular carbides on improving the stress corrosion cracking resistance in a cold-worked alloy 600, Journal of Nuclear Materials, 514 (2019) 50.
S. Santra, T. Davies, G. Matthews, J. Liu, C. R. M. Grovenor, S. C. Speller, The effect of the size of NbTi filaments on interfacial reactions and the properties of InSn-based superconducting solder joints, Materials & Design, 176 (2019) 107836.

2018

J. Liu, D. Kaoumi, Use of in-situ TEM to characterize the deformation-induced martensitic transformation in 304 stainless steel at cryogenic temperature, Materials Characterization, 136 (2018) 331.
D. Kaoumi, J. Liu, Deformation induced martensitic transformation in 304 austenitic stainless steel: In-situ vs. ex-situ transmission electron microscopy characterization, Materials Science and Engineering: A, 715 (2018) 73.