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Dendritic microstructures are frequently observed in as-solidified refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs), and their homogenization typically requires a long-term heat treatment at extremely high temperatures. High-pressure torsion (HPT) has been shown to be capable of mixing immiscible systems at room temperature, and therefore represents a promising technique for homogenizing dendritic RHEAs. In this work, the as-solidified RHEA MoNbTaTiVZr was processed up to 40 revolutions by HPT. It was found that the dendritic microstructure was eliminated, resulting in a chemical homogeneity at a von Mises equivalent shear strain of about 400. The study of deformation mechanism showed an initial strain localization, followed by a co-deformation of the dendritic and interdendritic regions. In the co-deformation step, the Zr-rich interdendritic region gradually disappeared. The deformation-induced mixing also led to the formation of an ultra-fine grained (UFG) microstructure, exhibiting a grain size of approximately 50 nm. The microhardness increased from 500 HV in the as-solidified to 675 HV in the homogenized UFG state. The underlying mechanisms responsible for the microhardness enhancement, such as grain refinement and solid solution strengthening, were also discussed.

During Precision Glass Molding (PGM), the molding tools have to withstand severe thermo-chemical and thermo-mechanical loads cyclically. To protect their high-quality optical surface against degradation and increase their service lifetime, protective coatings are applied on the molding tools. In this work, we designed four different PtIr protective coating systems, where the thickness of the PtIr layer and the adhesion layer were varied. Their lifetimes were evaluated and compared using an in-house built testing bench. Among all the studied coating systems, the protective coating, which consists of a 600nm thick PtIr layer and a 20nm thick Cr adhesion layer, showed the best durability with the longest lifetime. To understand the degradation mechanism of the coating during actual engineering production, an industrial PGM machine was used and emulation PGM tests were conducted. Detailed sample characterization was performed using an array of complementary techniques including white light interferometry (WLI), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and atom probe tomography (APT). Phenomena such as interdiffusion, oxidation, coating spallation and glass sticking on the coating were observed and are discussed in the context of optimization of the coating's performance and durability.

There are still debates regarding the mechanisms that lead to hot cracking in parts build by additive manufacturing (AM) of non-weldable Ni-based superalloys. This lack of in-depth understanding of the root causes of hot cracking is an impediment to designing engineering parts for safety-critical applications. Here, we deploy a near-atomic-scale approach to investigate the details of the compositional decoration of grain boundaries in the coarse-grained, columnar microstructure in parts built from a non-weldable Ni-based superalloy by selective electron-beam melting. The progressive enrichment in Cr, Mo and B at grain boundaries over the course of the AM-typical successive solidification and remelting events, accompanied by solid-state diffusion, causes grain boundary segregation induced liquation. This observation is consistent with thermodynamic calculations. We demonstrate that by adjusting build parameters to obtain a fine-grained equiaxed or a columnar microstructure with grain width smaller than 100 $\mu$m enables to avoid cracking, despite strong grain boundary segregation. We find that the spread of critical solutes to a higher total interfacial area, combined with lower thermal stresses, helps to suppress interfacial liquation., Comment: Accepted version at Acta Materialia

Pure carbon clusters have received considerable attention for a long time. However, fundamental questions such as what the smallest stable carbon cluster dication is remain unclear. Here, we investigated the stability and fragmentation behavior of C_n^{2+} (n=2-4) dications using state-of-the-art atom probe tomography. These small doubly charged carbon cluster ions were produced by laser-pulsed field evaporation from a tungsten carbide field emitter. Correlation analysis of the fragments detected in coincidence reveals that they only decay to C_{n-1}^+ + C^+. During C_2^{2+} => C^+ + C^+, significant kinetic energy release (\approx 5.75-7.8 eV) is evidenced. Through advanced experimental data processing combined with \textit{ab initio} calculations and simulations, we show that the field evaporated diatomic ^12C_2^{2+} dications are either in a weakly bound ^3{\Pi}_u and ^3{\Sigma}_g^- state, quickly dissociating under the intense electric field, or in a deeply bound electronic ^5{\Sigma}_u^- state with lifetimes longer than 180 ps.

Interfaces play critical roles in materials, and are usually both structurally and compositionally complex microstructural features. The precise characterization of their nature in three-dimensions at the atomic-scale is one of the grand challenges for microscopy and microanalysis, as this information is crucial to establish structure-property relationships. Atom probe tomography is well-suited to analyzing the chemistry of interfaces at the nanoscale. However, optimizing such microanalysis of interfaces requires great care in the implementation across all aspects of the technique, from specimen preparation to data analysis and ultimately the interpretation this information. This article provides critical perspectives on key aspects pertaining to spatial resolution limits and the issues with compositional analysis that can limit the quantification of interface measurements. Here, we use the example of grain boundaries in steels, however the results are applicable for the characterization of grain boundaries and transformation interfaces in a very wide range of industrially relevant engineering materials.