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The May 2024 issue of the Journal of Materials Science features a cover paper titled "Role of stacking fault energy in confined layer slip in nanolaminated Cu" by Ji et al. The paper explores the deformation of metallic nanolaminates and acknowledges the contribution of Professor Hussein Zbib. The issue is dedicated to honoring Professor Zbib's memory and was conceived by Guest Editors Tariq Khraishi, Georges Ayoub, Sinisa Mesarovic, and Mutasem Shehadeh. The paper includes references to previous work but does not mention any measurements of the intrinsic stacking fault energy. The corresponding author is Professor Shuozhi Xu from the University of Oklahoma, and the last author is Professor I.J. Beyerlein, who has a background in research and was born in Los Alamos. The paper is freely accessible through the SharedIt link provided. [Extracted from the article]

The regulation of hydrogen content in the continuous casting process is conducive to the reduction of pore defects in the casting billet. In this paper, the influence of negative pressure (NP) and continuous casting speed (CCS) on hydrogen content in copper rod billet prepared by negative pressure continuous casting (NPCC) technique was analyzed, and the mechanism of the coordinated coupling of NP and melt flow on hydrogen removal was revealed. It is clarified that with the CCS of 20 mm min−1 and an increase in the NP value from − 20 to − 80 kPa, the hydrogen content is reduced from 1.0 to 0.3 ppm. The coordinated action of NP and melt flow induced by CCS can minimize the hydrogen content. When the NP value is − 80 kPa and the CCS is 10 mm min−1, the hydrogen content is as low as 0.2 ppm, and the hydrogen removal rate is 85.7%. The larger the NP, the smaller the critical nucleation radius of the hydrogen bubble, and the larger the growth rate of the hydrogen bubble. The coupling of the NP field and flow field can make the melt which is difficult to nucleate and grow of the hydrogen bubble flow to the position which is easy to nucleate and grow. The effect of the vortex fields in the purification chamber on the removal of hydrogen is not affected by the CCS, but the CCS affects the floating of hydrogen at the solidification front, which leads to a small increase in the hydrogen content with the increase of the CCS. Our study provides a theoretical basis for the preparation of high-quality metal billets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, high-density (60−x)Fe−Cr−Co−xCu (x: 0–6 wt.%) permanent magnet alloys were fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) in-situ alloying technique, and the effects of Cu content on the microstructure, magnetic, and mechanical properties of the alloy were systematically investigated. The addition of 2 wt.% Cu enhanced the coercivity H c and the energy product (B H) max of the alloy in the isotropic state by 19.4 and 27.9%, respectively, compared to the alloy without Cu. The impacts of Cu content on the magnetic properties were investigated by combining experimental results and first-principles calculations. Furthermore, the addition of Cu improved the yield strength of the alloy, and the strengthening mechanism was analyzed in detail. The yield strength of the alloy with 2 wt.% Cu reached 908 MPa, representing a notable 7% increase relative to the Cu-free alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous downsizing of solder joints, the influence of the grain characteristics of the under bump metallization (UBMs) on the interfacial reaction is exposed. In this paper, the effect of grain characteristics of Cu UBM on the growth of interfacial intermetallic compounds and the formation of Kirkendall voids in Cu/Sn/Cu micro solder joints during isothermal aging at 150 °C was investigated. Electroplated polycrystalline Cu (EP-Cu), (111) single crystal Cu ((111) Cu), and (111) nano-twinned Cu ((111) nt-Cu) were selected as UBMs. After reflow soldering, the Cu6Sn5 grains formed on (111) nt-Cu were near to the orientation (2 1 - 1 - 3) , while those were randomly formed on both EP-Cu and (111) Cu. During isothermal aging, the Cu6Sn5 grains exhibited the highest growth rate on (111) nt-Cu UBM, and the slowest growth rate on (111) Cu UBM, due to the differing number of diffusion routes among the three Cu UBMs with distinct grain characteristics. Furthermore, no Kirkendall voids were detected on the (111) Cu UBM, however, a significant number of Kirkendall voids were identified on the (111) nt-Cu UBM, which can be attributed to the diffusion path and impurities present in the three Cu UBMs. The results will offer theoretical and practical recommendations for the selection of Cu UBMs for micro solder joints in 3D packaging interconnection technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation is a sustainable and green desalination method with great prospects for development in today's severe water shortage problem. In this paper, a novel composite aerogel was prepared by hydrothermal method with sodium alginate (SA) and Cu2+ in the preparation process using reduced graphene oxide as photothermal material and cellulose nanofibers as substrate. The good hydrophilicity of nanocellulose makes the composite aerogel have strong capillary action and continuous water transport. The gel formed by ion exchange between SA and Cu2+ greatly improves dry and wet mechanical strength of the composite aerogel and ensures the stability of the evaporator for multiple recycling. Copper is doped by reduction of copper ion complexes and reduced graphene oxide have a synergistic effect to increase the photothermal response rate of the composite aerogel of 1.446 kg m−2 h−1 with evaporation efficiency of 84.87% under one standard solar irradiation. In addition, the purification of heavy metal ions, dye wastewater as well as acid and alkali solutions also has excellent results. It is expected that this study will provide some new ideas for the fields of seawater desalination and wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demolding process of electroforming technology in fabricating microstructured optical-functional thin films produces the problem of excessive bonding between the metal substrate and the metal replica, which triggers the deformation of the microstructure and the reduction of precision, and the deposition of Cr–O–C discrete nuclei at the interface can play a good role in assisting the demolding effect. In this paper, the tensile deformation of polycrystalline Cu/Ni and Cu/Cr–O–C/Ni composites is investigated using molecular dynamics methods. The results show that the Cu/Ni model produces a large number of HCP structures during stretching, with holes at the interface and a large number of Cu atoms transferring to the Ni layer. The addition of the Cr–O–C layer reduces the yield strength of the Cu/Cr–O–C/Ni model by 26.41%, and at the same time, the dislocation proliferation at the interface is reduced, and the fracture is at the centralized interface, and the fracture time is reduced by 90.8%. The higher number of Cr–O–C atoms at the interface decreases the transfer of Cu atoms to the Ni layer. The results provide a possible explanation for the Cr–O–C layer-assisted precision electrodeposition debonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dielectric loss of Cu with high thermal conductivity is large at high frequency, which cannot meet the performance requirements in high-integrated circuits. There is an urgent need for materials to reduce its dielectric loss. In this paper, the thermal conductivity and dielectric properties of the AlN coating-Cu substrate system were controlled by changing the N2 pressure. The results showed that the crystallinity of hcp-AlN in AlN coating increased significantly when the proportion of N2 pressure was increased. With the increase of the N2 pressure, the particle size on the surface and the roughness of the coating improved. The AlN coating prepared at high N2 pressure had high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss at high frequency compared to those of the coatings prepared at low N2 pressure. At the same time, the AlN coating prepared under high N2 pressure on the Cu substrate did not decrease the thermal conductivity of Cu substrate. The AlN-Cu system prepared in this paper had high thermal conductivity and good dielectric properties, providing theoretical guidance for integrated circuit packaging and capacitor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the mechanisms behind sintering Cu-Ag core–shell nanoparticles can help us optimize the sintering process parameters and design the core–shell structure to achieve the desired sintering structure. In this paper, we employed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the sintering behaviors and mechanisms of CS NPs, taking into account the effects of shell thickness, particle size, and temperature. Our results revealed that dislocation loops in Cu-Ag CS NPs played a crucial role in sintering by emitting dislocations that facilitated crystal evolution, thereby reducing the number of amorphous structures. The state of dislocation loops could be controlled by shell thickness and NP size. As the shell thickness decreased to 0.5 nm, the structure of the dislocation loops could not be generated due to the extremely chaotic and thin Ag atoms. Furthermore, for NPs of the same size, the CS NP with a 0.5-nm shell thickness was the most active. Despite the neck not consisting of a Cu core, the Cu core, particularly its interface, could still participate in the sintering process. At 900 K, limited interface diffusion could be activated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of solute Al on the penetration of Cu atoms into the Fe grain boundary (GB) in the Fe–Cu embrittlement system was investigated by performing molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, the first principle density functional theory calculation was also employed to determine the binding properties and the electronic structure of GBs doped with solute atoms. The inhibition mechanism of liquid metal embrittlement (LME) cracks in the Fe–Cu system by Al was analyzed at the atomic scale by conducting simulations and calculations. The results show that the diffusion rate of Al along with the GB direction was much higher than that of Cu, and the preferential penetration and segregation of Al atoms acted as a barrier layer. Moreover, the addition of Al reduced the potential energy of Cu atoms, thus stabilizing their motion. These factors significantly inhibited the diffusion of Cu atoms along with the GB direction. The binding property of Fe GB doped with a high concentration of Cu was severely deteriorated, while the Al doping improved the atomic bonding. GBs with higher binding properties are less susceptible to fracture and groove under the application of tensile stress. This paper presents a novel perspective on the inhibition mechanism of LME cracks by doping a third component to inhibit the penetration of embrittlement atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper/steel composite is a kind of composite with excellent performance and broad application prospects. In this paper, the micro-morphology and structure of the interface of copper/steel composite prepared by the hot-dip casting were observed by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope, and the formation mechanism of the interface area was explored. The results show that the hot-dip casting temperature has a great influence on the micro-structure and morphology of the copper/steel interface area. When the hot-dip casting temperature is lower than 1125 °C, the copper/steel interface area is basically in a straight line. Even if the hot-dip casting time is extended, the interface characteristics change little. At 1100 °C, the copper-rich phase precipitated at the interface area is the coherent precipitates of Cu and BCC-Fe, with the crystal orientation <110> and the diameter about 10 nm ~ 30 nm. When the hot-dip casting temperature reaches 1150 °C, the copper/steel interface area begins to appear new micro-morphology, and the range of new micro-morphology becomes larger and larger with the increase in the hot-dip casting temperature and the extension of the hot-dip casting time. At 1200 °C, the copper-rich phase precipitated at the interface is the coherent precipitates of FCC-Cu and FCC-Fe, with the crystal orientation <100> and the size similar to that at 1100 °C. In the process of the hot-dip casting, the formation of the copper/steel interface area experienced three stages: the co-temperature of copper/steel and the wetting of copper liquid on solid steel, the formation and transformation of the solid–liquid mixed layer between steel and copper liquid and the evolution stage of the liquid–solid mixed layer during cooling and solidification. This kind of interface zone with gradual structure tightly connects the steel matrix and solidified copper together, to form a copper/steel composite with strong bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the excellent thermoelectric properties and low sintering temperature, nano-Ag paste is a promising die-attach material for high power electronic device. Unfortunately, it is difficult to resolve the critical issues including poor interfacial wettability, high porosity and poor high-temperature reliability of sintered nano-Ag joint. In this study, a novel bonding method was proposed to solve these problems by introducing Sn into the nano-Ag joint through the transient-liquid-phase (TLP) bonding technology. The Ag-Sn joint reported in this paper maintained excellent mechanical properties after high temperature aging and thermal shock test. The addition of Sn reduced the porosity of nano-Ag joint and improved the wettability of bonded interface. After aging at 200 °C for 2000 h, the shear strength still remains higher than 50 MPa. Besides, this bonding approach resolves the oxidization problem of Cu substrate at high temperature. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results indicate the addition of Sn could effectively inhibit the permeation of oxygen into the interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we proposed rapid laser-induced synthesis of copper micropatterns on the surface of oxide glass from deep eutectic solvents (DESs) consisting of choline chloride, citric or tartaric acid, and copper acetate as the copper plating solutions. It was shown that upon the 532-nm continuos wave laser irradiation, it is possible to increase the deposition rate of copper and create micropatterns with a resistance close to the value of pure metal together with high adhesion to the substrate surface. This metallization method is favorable for the practical use of copper patterns, including in the production of new printable microelectronic devices. Thus, we demonstrated the possibility of copper deposition on arbitrary three-dimensional surfaces. Moreover, the resulting copper micropatterns were tested as working electrodes for non-enzymatic glucose. Finally, the proposed technology can be successfully used for the design and development of sensor platforms for the electrochemical analysis and microelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of Ni in Ag–Cu filler on the wetting and brazing characterization of stainless steel was studied by means of wetting test and brazing test under high vacuum condition. The wettability of filler metal and the joint strength were improved after adding Ni in Ag–Cu filler. The filler penetrates into stainless steel and the topmost steel grains separate from the substrate, exposing the metal surface without oxide film after adding Ni, which leads to the reduction in contact angle. The interdiffusion between FM and SS is enhanced after adding Ni, which leads to further reduction in contact angle. At wetting temperature, large amount of Ni in liquid enriched at solid–liquid interface, increasing the Cu content in liquid near the interface to form Cu-rich liquid, which caused the penetration of liquid filler. Cu first penetrates into steel grain boundary, which provides a path for Ni diffusion into stainless steel. After the oxide film was removed, a large number of Ni directly diffused into stainless steel to form (γ-Fe, Ni) layer on stainless steel surface. Cu in liquid can directly diffuse into (γ-Fe, Ni). Stainless steel can dissolve in Cu-rich liquid with high Ni content. In the absence of Ni, FM/SS interface is the weakest location of the joint. After adding Ni in filler, the formation of Cu solid solution at FM/SS interface and the enhancement of interdiffusion between FM and SS strengthen the FM/SS interface, leading to the increase in joint strength. The results in this paper suggest Ni is beneficial for brazing stainless steel by Ag–Cu alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the mechanical damage behavior is investigated based on the characteristic roughness on the surface and the orientation of superficial structures. The main goal is to explore the surface roughness on mechanically loaded copper conductors as a lifetime indicator. For this purpose, copper conductors are mechanically stressed in accordance with EN 50,396 and then examined metallographically and microscopically. The microstructure examination shows that the roughness is caused by material extrusion and cracks due to work hardening in the surface area. Using confocal microscopy, it is shown for the first time that significant formation of surface roughness takes place over the service life of copper conductors. The roughness increases monotonically, but not linearly with number of cycles, due to internal microstructural processes and can be divided into three sections. First inspections of the conductor surface over lifetime show a correlation between the intensity of structures orientated 45° to the loading direction and the roughness. This phenomenon, already known from microscopic slip lines, is thus also evident in macroscopic roughness formation and is well founded by the research theory on material extrusion along dislocation lines. In summary, a lifetime determination is possible based on its developing roughness which enables the utilization as a sensor element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, 50 ... 680 nm thick AlN-Al2O3 coatings are deposited by magnetron sputtering on the surface of a steel substrate and a piece of copper is melted on top of the ceramic. Upon heating the ceramic layer is cracked, and the phase inversion of the two top phases from steel/ceramic/copper configuration to the steel/copper/ceramic configuration takes place within 30 s of liquid time of copper. This phase inversion process is accompanied by a Gibbs energy change of about − 1.78 J/m2, due to good wettability of solid deoxidized steel by liquid copper in contrary to poor wettability of the ceramic by the copper. When copper is melted on AlN-Al2O3 coating with its thicknesses smaller than a critical value of about 170 ± 60 nm, liquid copper droplets hanging down into the cracks within the ceramic reach the solid steel surface at the bottom of the cracks, thus the flow of Cu down along the cracks is enabled. However, when copper is melted on AlN-Al2O3 with its thickness larger than the critical value of 170 ± 60 nm, Cu first forms a non-wetting droplet on top of the ceramics, and only after a certain incubation time it starts flowing down the cracks. This incubation time was found to depend linearly on the thickness of the ceramic, as cracks are filled from the bottom upwards by liquid copper via the evaporation–condensation mechanism. By the end of the process, the steel/copper/ceramic configuration is further stabilized by gravity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-06031-9 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nano- and microstructures possess unique properties that may find a variety of applications. Environmentally benign synthesis of Cu2O with well-controlled morphology is highly desirable. In this study, Cu2O crystals with tunable shapes are synthesized using cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) as a shape regulator and the sole reducing agent in aqueous environment. By simply increasing Cu2O precursor concentration, the Cu2O crystals evolved from octahedra to cuboctahedra, and finally cubes, accompanied with increasing size from nano- to microscale. The selection of Cu chelating agent (sodium tartrate or potassium sodium tartrate) affected the crystal growth rate. Transition in the relative intensities of the (111) and the (200) crystalline peaks in their XRD patterns was consistent with the morphology change. During the growth of crystals, CNFs were preferably bound to the {111} crystalline facet. The introduction of KBr to the reaction system produced short hexapods. The resultant CNF-Cu2O hybrids were incorporated into waterborne polyurethane (WPU) films. Even with 0.5 wt% CNF-Cu2O, the WPU film showed significant enhancement in modulus, strength and elongation at break. This work proves the possibility of controlled growth of Cu2O particles aided by CNFs and provides a new strategy for improving the performance of eco-friendly WPU films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]