Graphite and nuclear materials

Nuclear power is the biggest contributor to low-carbon electricity after hydroelectricity. Assoc. Prof. Nigel Marks has extensive experience in the nuclear industry having been a Reactor Scientist/Engineer in the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation from 1996-1997. 

The group has published on radiation damage, radioactive waste, chemical evolution through transmutation and biological effects of beta-decay.

Most recently we have performed fundamental studies into how neutron bombardment impacts graphite’s nanostructure and how it degrades.

Nigel often discusses the role of nuclear energy in our low carbon future (including a perspective in Science, a conversation article and 100+ TV, print and radio interviews). 

Smith, Jim, Nigel Marks, and Tony Irwin. "The risks of radioactive waste water release." Science 382.6666 (2023): 31-33.

Vuković, F., Leyssale, J. M., Aurel, P., & Marks, N. A. (2018). Evolution of threshold displacement energy in irradiated graphite. Physical Review Applied, 10(6), 064040.

Christie, H. J., Robinson, M., Roach, D. L., Ross, D. K., Suarez-Martinez, I., & Marks, N. A. (2015). Simulating radiation damage cascades in graphite. Carbon, 81, 105-114.

Marks, N. A., & Robinson, M. (2015). Variable timestep algorithm for molecular dynamics simulation of non-equilibrium processes. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 352, 3-8.

Sassi, M., Carter, D. J., Uberuaga, B. P., Stanek, C. R., & Marks, N. A. (2014). Carbon-14 decay as a source of non-canonical bases in DNA. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-General Subjects, 1840(1), 526-534.

Lumpkin, G. R., Smith, K., Whittle, K., Thomas, B. S., & Marks, N. A. (2009). Mechanisms of radiation damage and properties of nuclear materials. MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL), 1215, 1215-V04.

Sassi, M., Carter, D. J., Uberuaga, B. P., Stanek, C. R., Mancera, R. L., & Marks, N. A. (2014). Hydrogen Bond Disruption in DNA Base Pairs from 14C Transmutation. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 118(35), 10430-10435.

Fullarton, M. L., Qin, M. J., Robinson, M., Marks, N. A., King, D. J., Kuo, E. Y., ... & Middleburgh, S. C. (2013). Structure, properties and formation of PuCrO 3 and PuAlO 3 of relevance to doped nuclear fuels. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 1(46), 14633-14640.

Thomas, B. S., Marks, N. A., Corrales, L. R., & Devanathan, R. (2005). Threshold displacement energies in rutile TiO2: A molecular dynamics simulation study. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 239(3), 191-201.