Irradiation‐induced brittle‐to‐ductile transition in α‐quartz

Abstract Silicate materials such as quartz and silica glass are inherently brittle in nature. Here, using atomistic simulations, we demonstrate that the quartz crystal exhibits a brittle‐to‐ductile transition when irradiated. We show that the nanoscale plasticity observed in the irradiated structure is reminiscent of metal‐like plasticity, which is neither observed in the isochemical crystalline or glassy structure. Invoking an energy landscape approach, we demonstrate that the local atomic self‐organization facilitated by the shallow energy landscape is at the origin of this plastic behavior. Overall, the results suggest that the irradiation could be a methodology to induce a ductile transition in materials that are otherwise brittle.