Background: C/C composites are an attractive choice for components in nuclear reactors because of their excellent performance in high temperature resistance

corrosion resistance and radiation resistance. However

to the best of our knowledge

the radiation research on their morphology and microstructure are scant. Purpose: The aim is to investigate the morphology and microstructure of C/C composites induced by irradiation. Methods: The C/C composites were irradiated with 0.5MeV and 1 MeV Ar ions at room temperature. The samples prepared before and after irradiation have been characterized by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results: With the increment of irradiation dose

the surface defects in the irradiated samples greatly increase. Moreover

some cracks and holes are found in the matrix surfaces

and the largest ones are even up to the size of one micrometer. Conclusion: The surface defects in the matrix caused by 0.5 MeV Ar ion with dose of 2.4×1016 ions?cm?2 are much more than those by 1 MeV Ar ion with dose of 3×1016 ions?cm?2.Cited