This study investigates the reaction of ZrB2 ceramics to high-dose gamma irradiation and subsequent thermal treatment in terms of defect formation and recovery mechanisms, which are important for harsh reactor environments. ZrB2 powders were irradiated with 60Co gamma rays at a total absorbed dose in the range of 1500–3000 kGy, and then annealed at 1173 K. Surface and near-surface analyses (SEM, TEM/HRTEM, FTIR) indicate the formation of a thin oxygen-rich layer and moderate particle coarsening after irradiation; after annealing, partial removal of hydroxyl/oxide-related features and relaxation of microstrain are observed. Positron-based DB/EMD measurements show that irradiation leads to an increase in vacancy-type defects (VB, VZr, and their clusters), while after thermal treatment these defects decrease toward the reference state, which is consistent with thermally assisted defect recombination. First-principles (TCDFT/DFT) calculations confirm these trends: in defective structures, shifts in the Fermi level and weakening of Zr4d–B2p hybridization are observed, while changes in the elastic constants are only moderate. Overall, the results show that ZrB2 exhibits noticeable defect resilience within the investigated gamma dose range, and post-irradiation annealing can partially reduce the induced damage. These findings are informative for the initial selection of materials, but they cannot be considered as a comparative ranking with existing first-wall candidates; application-oriented final conclusions require direct comparative studies under the same conditions.
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