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We conduct in situ tensile straining experiments to investigate the role of hydrogen and slip in crack initiation in nickel-based alloy 725. Our experiments reveal no tendency for hydrogen to enhance localized slip and no necessity of slip for crack initiation. We use electrochemical charging to introduce hydrogen into samples, melt extraction to measure hydrogen content, and digital image correlation to analyze localized plastic strains during in situ tensile tests in a scanning electron microscope. Cracks initiate both in regions with and without nearby localized slip. Moreover, the fraction of cracks initiating with no nearby slip is greater at higher hydrogen content. Slip-assisted crack initiation generally occurs at locations where intergranular slip is arrested, especially at intersections of slipping coherent twin boundaries with thin twin lamellae. Cracks that initiate without nearby slip occur at a wider variety of microstructural features, including inclusions, triple junctions, and surface flaws.

Fatigue in metals involves gradual failure through incremental propagation of cracks under repetitive mechanical load. In structural applications, fatigue accounts for up to 90% of in-service failure 1,2 . Prevention of fatigue relies on implementation of large safety factors and inefficient overdesign 3 . In traditional metallurgical design for fatigue resistance, microstructures are developed to either arrest or slow the progression of cracks. Crack growth is assumed to be irreversible. By contrast, in other material classes, there is a compelling alternative based on latent healing mechanisms and damage reversal 4-9 . Here, we report that fatigue cracks in pure metals can undergo intrinsic self-healing. We directly observe the early progression of nanoscale fatigue cracks, and as expected, the cracks advance, deflect and arrest at local microstructural barriers. However, unexpectedly, cracks were also observed to heal by a process that can be described as crack flank cold welding induced by a combination of local stress state and grain boundary migration. The premise that fatigue cracks can autonomously heal in metals through local interaction with microstructural features challenges the most fundamental theories on how engineers design and evaluate fatigue life in structural materials. We discuss the implications for fatigue in a variety of service environments., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Quantitative multi-image analysis (QMA) is the systematic extraction of new information and insight through the simultaneous analysis of multiple, related images. We present examples illustrating the potential for QMA to advance materials research in multi-image characterization, automatic feature identification, and discovery of novel processing-structure-property relationships. We conclude by discussing opportunities and challenges for continued advancement of QMA, including instrumentation development, uncertainty quantification, and automatic parsing of literature data., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1557/s43579-022-00265-7., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) causes sudden, costly failures of metal components across a wide range of industries. Yet, despite over a century of research, the physical mechanisms of HE are too poorly understood to predict HE-induced failures with confidence. We use non-destructive, synchrotron-based techniques to investigate the relationship between the crystallographic character of grain boundaries and their susceptibility to hydrogen-assisted fracture in a nickel superalloy. Our data lead us to identify a class of grain boundaries with striking resistance to hydrogen-assisted crack propagation: boundaries with low-index planes (BLIPs). BLIPs are boundaries where at least one of the neighboring grains has a low Miller index facet-{001}, {011}, or {111}-along the grain boundary plane. These boundaries deflect propagating cracks, toughening the material and improving its HE resistance. Our finding paves the way to improved predictions of HE based on the density and distribution of BLIPs in metal microstructures.

One way of expediting materials development is to decrease the need for new experiments by making greater use of published literature. Here, we use data mining and automated image analysis to gather new insights on nanoporous gold (NPG) without conducting additional experiments or simulations. NPG is a three-dimensional porous network that has found applications in catalysis, sensing, and actuation. We assemble and analyze published images from among thousands of publications on NPG. These images allow us to infer a quantitative description of NPG coarsening as a function of time and temperature, including the coarsening exponent and activation energy. They also demonstrate that relative density and ligament size in NPG are not correlated, indicating that these microstructure features are independently tunable. Our investigation leads us to propose improved reporting guidelines that will enhance the utility of future publications in the field of dealloyed materials.

Damage caused by implanted helium (He) is a major concern for material performance in future nuclear reactors. We use a combination of experiments and modeling to demonstrate that amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) is immune to He-induced damage. By contrast with other solids, where implanted He becomes immobilized in nanometer-scale precipitates, He in SiOC remains in solution and outgasses from the material via atomic-scale diffusion without damaging its free surfaces. Furthermore, the behavior of He in SiOC is not sensitive to the exact concentration of carbon and hydrogen in this material, indicating that the composition of SiOC may be tuned to optimize other properties without compromising resistance to implanted He.

Material degradation due to precipitation of implanted helium (He) is a key concern in nuclear energy. Decades of research have mapped out the fate of He precipitates in metals, from nucleation and growth of equiaxed bubbles and voids to formation and bursting of surface blisters. By contrast, we show that He precipitates confined within nanoscale metal layers depart from their classical growth trajectories: They self-organize into elongated channels. These channels form via templated nucleation of He precipitates along layer surfaces followed by their growth and spontaneous coalescence into stable precipitate lines. The total line length and connectivity increases with the amount of implanted He, indicating that these channels ultimately interconnect into percolating "vascular" networks. Vascularized metal composites promise a transformative solution to He-induced damage by enabling in operando outgassing of He and other impurities while maintaining material integrity.

Despite recent interest in amorphous ceramics for a variety of nuclear applications, many details of their structure before and after irradiation/implantation remain unknown. Here we investigated the short-range order of amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) alloys by using the atomic pair-distribution function (PDF) obtained from electron diffraction. The PDF results show that the structure of SiOC alloys are nearly unchanged after both irradiation up to 30 dpa and He implantation up to 113 at%. TEM characterization shows no sign of crystallization, He bubble or void formation, or segregation in all irradiated samples. Irradiation results in a decreased number of Si-O bonds and an increased number of Si-C and C-O bonds. This study sheds light on the design of radiation-tolerant materials that do not experience helium swelling for advanced nuclear reactor applications.

Clean, safe and economical nuclear energy requires new materials capable of withstanding severe radiation damage. One strategy of imparting radiation resistance to solids is to incorporate into them a high density of solid-phase interfaces capable of absorbing and annihilating radiation-induced defects. Here we show that elastic interactions between point defects and semicoherent interfaces lead to a marked enhancement in interface sink strength. Our conclusions stem from simulations that integrate first principles, object kinetic Monte Carlo and anisotropic elasticity calculations. Surprisingly, the enhancement in sink strength is not due primarily to increased thermodynamic driving forces, but rather to reduced defect migration barriers, which induce a preferential drift of defects towards interfaces. The sink strength enhancement is highly sensitive to the detailed character of interfacial stresses, suggesting that 'super-sink' interfaces may be designed by optimizing interface stress fields. Such interfaces may be used to create materials with unprecedented resistance to radiation-induced damage.

Interface engineering has become an important strategy for designing radiation-resistant materials. Critical to its success is fundamental understanding of the interactions between interfaces and radiation-induced defects, such as voids. Using transmission electron microscopy, here we report an interesting phenomenon in their interaction, wherein voids adhere to only one side of the bimetal interfaces rather than overlapping them. We show that this asymmetrical void-interface interaction is a consequence of differing surface energies of the two metals and non-uniformity in their interface formation energy. Specifically, voids grow within the phase of lower surface energy and wet only the high-interface energy regions. Furthermore, because this outcome cannot be accounted for by wetting of interfaces with uniform internal energy, our report provides experimental evidence that bimetal interfaces contain non-uniform internal energy distributions. This work also indicates that to design irradiation-resistant materials, we can avoid void-interface overlap via tuning the configurations of interfaces.

Amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) is of great technological interest. However, its atomic-level structure is not well understood. Using density functional theory calculations, we show that the clustering tendency of C atoms in SiOC is extremely sensitive to hydrogen (H): without H, the C-C interaction is attractive, leading to enrichment of aggregated SiC4 tetrahedral units; with hydrogen, the C-C interaction is repulsive, leading to enrichment of randomly distributed SiCO3 tetrahedral units. Our results suggest that conflicting experimental characterizations of C distributions may be due to differing amounts of H present in the samples investigated. Our work also opens a path for tailoring the properties of SiOC by using the total H content to control the C distribution.

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) causes engineering alloys to fracture unexpectedly, often at considerable economic or environmental cost. Inaccurate predictions of component lifetimes arise from inadequate understanding of how alloy microstructure affects HE. Here we investigate hydrogen-assisted fracture of a Ni-base superalloy and identify coherent twin boundaries (CTBs) as the microstructural features most susceptible to crack initiation. This is a surprising result considering the renowned beneficial effect of CTBs on mechanical strength and corrosion resistance of many engineering alloys. Remarkably, we also find that CTBs are resistant to crack propagation, implying that hydrogen-assisted crack initiation and propagation are governed by distinct physical mechanisms in Ni-base alloys. This finding motivates a re-evaluation of current lifetime models in light of the dual role of CTBs. It also indicates new paths to designing materials with HE-resistant microstructures.

Critical to the growth of digital manufacturing is the development of rapid yet accurate quality control technologies to assess the microstructure of each metal part produced. Typical surface analysis methods are limited in measurement throughput and impose constraints on maximum area size and surface quality, which enforce the tedious practice of extracting and preparing flat, small-scale samples for microstructure analysis. Here, we propose a new approach based on directional reflectance microscopy (DRM) which can yield part-scale microstructure information nondestructively and on curved, complex surfaces. We demonstrate our approach on the airfoil of a turbine blade and carry out a rigorous error analysis using other samples with variable surface geometry. Our results highlight the potential for part-specific quality control in the context of digital manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy absorption by matter is fundamental to natural and man-made processes. However, despite this ubiquity, developing materials capable of withstanding severe energy fluxes without degradation is a significant challenge in materials science and engineering. Despite recent advances in creating alloys resistant to energy fluxes, mitigating the damage caused by the absorption and transfer of mechanical energy remains a critical obstacle in both fundamental science and technological applications. This challenge is especially prominent when the mechanical energy is transferred to the material by shock loading. This study demonstrates a phenomenon in which microstructurally stabilized nanocrystalline Cu-Ta alloys can undergo reversal or nearly complete recovery of the dislocation structure after multiple shock-loading impacts, unlike any other known metallic material. The microstructure of these alloys can withstand repeated shock-wave interactions at pressures up to 12 GPa without any significant microstructural damage or deterioration, demonstrating an extraordinary capacity to be virtually immune to the detrimental effects of shock loading. This study reveals that under 12 GPa shock loading, stabilized nanocrystalline Cu-3Ta can generate and reabsorb dislocations, enabling near-complete recovery without microstructural deterioration. This behavior contrasts with other known metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While large language models learn sound statistical representations of the language and information therein, ontologies are symbolic knowledge representations that can complement the former ideally. Research at this critical intersection relies on datasets that intertwine ontologies and text corpora to enable training and comprehensive benchmarking of neurosymbolic models. We present the MaterioMiner dataset and the linked materials mechanics ontology where ontological concepts from the mechanics of materials domain are associated with textual entities within the literature corpus. Another distinctive feature of the dataset is its eminently fine-grained annotation. Specifically, 179 distinct classes are manually annotated by three raters within four publications, amounting to 2191 entities that were annotated and curated. Conceptual work is presented for the symbolic representation of causal composition-process-microstructure-property relationships. We explore the annotation consistency between the three raters and perform fine-tuning of pre-trained language models to showcase the feasibility of training named entity recognition models. Reusing the dataset can foster training and benchmarking of materials language models, automated ontology construction, and knowledge graph generation from textual data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterning is a familiar approach for imparting novel functionalities to free surfaces. We extend the patterning paradigm to interfaces between crystalline solids. Many interfaces have non-uniform internal structures comprised of misfit dislocations, which in turn govern interface properties. We develop and validate a computational strategy for designing interfaces with controlled misfit dislocation patterns by tailoring interface crystallography and composition. Our approach relies on a novel method for predicting the internal structure of interfaces: rather than obtaining it from resource-intensive atomistic simulations, we compute it using an efficient reduced order model based on anisotropic elasticity theory. Moreover, our strategy incorporates interface synthesis as a constraint on the design process. As an illustration, we apply our approach to the design of interfaces with rapid, 1-D point defect diffusion. Patterned interfaces may be integrated into the microstructure of composite materials, markedly improving performance.

A novel interface engineering strategy is proposed to simultaneously achieve superior irradiation tolerance, high strength, and high thermal stability in bulk nanolayered composites of a model face-centered-cubic (Cu)/body-centered-cubic (Nb) system. By synthesizing bulk nanolayered Cu-Nb composites containing interfaces with controlled sink efficiencies, a novel material is designed in which nearly all irradiation-induced defects are annihilated., (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

We present a new mechanism--discovered using molecular dynamics simulations--that leads to complete healing of nanocracks. This mechanism relies on the generation of crystal defects known as disclinations by migrating grain boundaries. Crack healing by disclinations does not require any compressive loads applied normal to the crack faces and even occurs under monotonic tensile loading. By closing small cracks and suppressing the propagation of others, this mechanism may provide a novel way of mitigating internal damage that influences ductility in nanocrystalline metals.

We use molecular dynamics simulations to show that glass transition in a model phase separating amorphous alloy, Cu(50)Nb(50), occurs by gelation. At the glass transition, a mechanically stiff, percolating network of atoms with icosahedral local packing forms at the interfaces between compositionally enriched regions. This low-energy network halts coarsening of the phase-separated structure and imparts shear resistance. These features of glass transition are remarkably similar to gelation processes in polymeric and colloidal gels.

He implanted into metals precipitates into nanoscale bubbles that may later grow into voids, degrading the properties of engineering alloys. Using multiscale modeling, we show that a different class of He precipitates may form at semicoherent interfaces: nanoscale platelets. These platelets grow by wetting high-energy interface regions, remain stable under irradiation, and reduce He-induced swelling. Stable storage of He at interfaces may impart unprecedented He resistance to future structural materials.

Magnetron sputtered thin films of Cu, Nb, and Cu-Nb multilayers with 2.5 and 5 nm nominal layer thickness were deposited on Si and implanted with 4He+ and 3He+ ions. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy and nuclear reaction analysis, respectively, were used to measure the 4He+ and 3He+ concentration profile with depth inside the films. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the helium bubbles. Analysis of the contrast from helium bubbles in defocused transmission electron microscope images showed a minimum bubble diameter of 1.25 nm. While pure Cu and Nb films showed bubble contrast over the entire range of helium implantation, the multilayers exhibited bubbles only above a critical He concentration that increased almost linearly with decreasing layer thickness. The work shows that large amounts of helium can be trapped at incoherent interfaces in the form of stable, nanometer-size bubbles.

We use atomistic simulations to show that upon removal or insertion of atoms, misfit dislocations in Cu-Nb interfaces shift between two adjacent planes, forming pairs of extended jogs. Different jog combinations give rise to interface structures with unlike densities but nearly degenerate energies, making Cu-Nb interfaces virtually inexhaustible sinks for radiation-induced point defects and catalysts for efficient Frenkel pair recombination.

High-energy irradiation significantly increases the optical losses and noise coefficients of laser materials, leading to a substantial decrease in the slope efficiency or gain performance of laser output. To address this issue, we propose a strategy to enhance the radiation resistance of glasses/fibers by introducing phase interfaces. Based on the sol–gel method, through phase-separation techniques and high-temperature annealing treatments, silica-rich and phosphorus-rich phases were formed in erbium-ytterbium co-doped high-phosphorus silica glass, and nanoscale phase interfaces with specific densities, stability levels, and homogeneous distributions of doped elements were constructed between the phases. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and spectroscopic analyses, we tracked the evolution of the internal microstructure of the glasses at the atomic level. The findings confirmed that annealing effectively controlled the density of the phase interfaces formed. Under 1 kGy X-ray irradiation, glasses with effective phase interfaces exhibited significant reduction in radiation-induced attenuation (RIA) and improvement in photoluminescence intensity compared to pristine glasses. This indicated that effective phase interfaces could act as complex centers for irradiation-induced point defects, absorbing radiant energy and trapping these defects, thus mitigating high-energy radiation-induced damages. Furthermore, online irradiation tests on the Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped silica fibers supported this result. Compared to pristine fiber, fibers annealed for 3 h and annealed for 20 h with different phase interfacial densities showed 45% and 73% lower RIA at 1080 nm, respectively. Highlights: Erbium-ytterbium co-doped high-phosphorus silica glasses/fibers were synthesized via a modified sol–gel method, incorporating nanoscale phase-interface structures. Annealing treatment was utilized to increase the density of phase interfaces in the glasses/fibers. Strengthening the phase interfaces resulted in reduced radiation-induced attenuation and improved radiation resistance of glasses/fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase-field modeling offers a powerful tool for investigating the electrical control of the domain structure in ferroelectrics. However, its broad application is constrained by demanding computational requirements, limiting its utility in inverse design scenarios. Here, we introduce a machine-learning surrogate to accelerate 3D phase-field modeling of tip-induced electrical switching. By dynamically handling the boundary conditions, the surrogate achieves accurate reproduction of switching trajectories under various tip locations and applied voltages. With stable predictions throughout entire morphological evolution pathways and a relative error inferior to 10% compared to direct solvers, the model efficiently emulates intricate switching sequences. By successfully replicating the boundary conditions, the presented framework strides towards a holistic surrogate for the ferroelectric phase field. With up to 2500-fold speed-ups over classical methods, our approach opens the path for the tractable design of the domain structure and the resolution of realistic inverse problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain boundaries (GBs) profoundly influence the properties and performance of materials, emphasizing the importance of understanding the GB structure and phase behavior. As recent computational studies have demonstrated the existence of multiple GB phases associated with varying the atomic density at the interface, we introduce a validated, open-source GRand canonical Interface Predictor (GRIP) tool that automates high-throughput, grand canonical optimization of GB structures. While previous studies of GB phases have almost exclusively focused on cubic systems, we demonstrate the utility of GRIP in an application to hexagonal close-packed titanium. We perform a systematic high-throughput exploration of tilt GBs in titanium and discover previously unreported structures and phase transitions. In low-angle boundaries, we demonstrate a coupling between point defect absorption and the change in the GB dislocation network topology due to GB phase transformations, which has important implications for the accommodation of radiation-induced defects. Grain boundaries strongly influence the properties of crystalline materials, but identifying their multiple phases remains difficult. Here, authors show a new tool for automated grain boundary structure prediction with an application to Ti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interdiffusion-based macromolecular transport across glassy interfaces is reportedly achieved at high temperatures in accordance with the classical model of reptation. Here, for the first time, we report a new mechanistic pathway for achieving solid-state glassy joining by triggering rapid macromolecular acceleration through mechanical deformation. Large-scale molecular simulations reveal that active plastic deformation in glassy polymers, at temperatures well below the bulk (and surface) glass transition temperatures T g b (and T g s ), causes segmental translations of macromolecules leading to interfacial interpenetrations, and the formation of new entanglements. The mechanistic basis for this new type of bonding is identified as molecular-scale dilatations and densifications during deformation-induced mobility. The reported insights open promising avenues for achieving quick, strong, and energetically less-intensive joining of polymeric glasses across various sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular dynamics simulations show that plastic deformation of amorphous Si modeled by the Stillinger-Weber potential is very sensitive to the density of the initial unstressed state. Low-density systems exhibit a pronounced yield phenomenon, strain softening, and a dramatic drop in pressure during deformation at a constant volume. This behavior is explained by the presence in every system of a certain concentration of solidlike and liquidlike components, the latter being denser and more amenable to plastic flow.

We describe a transmission electron microscopy investigation of the distribution of helium precipitates within the plane of an interface between Cu and V. Statistical analysis of precipitate locations reveals a weak tendency for interfacial precipitates to align along ⟨110⟩-type crystallographic directions within the Cu layer. Comparison of these findings with helium-free Cu/V interfaces suggests that the precipitates may be aggregating preferentially along atomic-size steps in the interface created by threading dislocations in the Cu layer. Our observations also suggest that some precipitates may be aggregating along intersections between interfacial misfit dislocations. IMPACT STATEMENT Theinnovationof this paper is providing the first plane-view experimental images of in-plane helium precipitate distributions at an interface between physical vapor deposited face-centered cubic (fcc) and body-centered cubic (bcc) metals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Context: Advanced copper and copper alloys, as significant engineering structural materials, have recently been extensively used in energy, electron, transportation, and aviation domains. Higher requirements urge the emergence of high-performance copper alloys. However, the traditional trial-and-error experimental observations and computational simulation research used to design and develop novel materials are time-consuming and costly. With the accumulation of material research and rapid development of computational ability, the thorough application of material genome engineering has sped up the development of novel materials and facilitates the process of systematic engineering application., Methods: This review summarizes the benefits of data-driven machine learning techniques and the state of the art of machine learning research in the area of copper alloys. It also displays the widely used computational simulation approaches (e.g., the first-principles calculation, molecular dynamics simulation, phase-field simulations, and finite element analysis) and their combined applications in material design and property prediction. Finally, the limitations of machine learning research methods are outlined, and future development directions are proposed., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethical approval Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Unraveling the effects of continuous dislocation interactions with interfaces, particularly at the nanometer length scales, is key to a broader understanding of plasticity, to material design and to material certification. To this end, this work proposes a novel discrete dislocation dynamics-based model for dislocation interface interactions tracking the fate of residual dislocation on interfaces. This new approach is used to predict the impact of dislocation/interface reactions on the overall mechanical behavior of accumulative roll bonded nanometallic laminates. The framework considers the dynamic evolution of the interface concurrent with a large network of dislocations, thus, accounting for the local short and long range effects of the dislocations under the external boundary conditions. Specifically, this study focuses on two-phase Fe/Cu nanometallic laminates, and investigates the role of the underlying elastic and plastic contrast of the Fe and the Cu layers on the composite response of the material. Moreover, the role of initial microstructures, resulting from processing is also investigated. Subsequently, the model is used to examine the effect of layer thickness and interface orientation relationship on the residual stresses of the relaxed microstructure. The associated mechanical response of these laminates are compared when loaded under normal direction compression, as well as shear compression. Finally, this work predicts a dominant effect of the layer thickness, as compared to the interface orientation relationship, on the macroscopic response and on the residual stresses of these nanolaminates, while the local dislocation transmission propensity through the interface is significantly influenced by the corresponding orientation relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some low-coordination materials, including water, silica, and silicon, exhibit polyamorphism, having multiple amorphous forms. However, the microscopic mechanism and kinetic pathway of amorphous-amorphous transition (AAT) remain largely unknown. Here, we use a state-of-the-art machine-learning potential and local structural analysis to investigate the microscopic kinetics of AAT in silicon after a rapid pressure change. We find that the transition from low-density-amorphous (LDA) to high-density-amorphous (HDA) occurs through nucleation and growth, resulting in non-spherical interfaces that underscore the mechanical nature of AAT. In contrast, the reverse transition occurs through spinodal decomposition. Further pressurisation transforms LDA into very-high-density amorphous (VHDA), with HDA serving as an intermediate state. Notably, the final amorphous states are inherently unstable, transitioning into crystals. Our findings demonstrate that AAT and crystallisation are driven by joint thermodynamic and mechanical instabilities, assisted by preordering, occurring without diffusion. This unique mechanical and diffusion-less nature distinguishes AAT from liquid-liquid transitions. The mechanism of amorphous-amorphous transitions is highly debated. Here, the authors use molecular dynamics simulations to reveal transitions via nucleation-growth or spinodal decomposition, resembling a thermodynamic phase transition but influenced by mechanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use micro-computed tomography (µ-CT) to characterize the sizes, shapes, and locations of layer perforation (LP) defects in laminates of copper (Cu) and tantalum (Ta) processed by accumulative roll bonding (ARB). One—termed Cu/Ta—was processed from an initial stacking of seven alternating Cu and Ta sheets, with the exterior sheets being Cu. In the other—termed Ta/Cu—the exterior sheets are Ta. Cu/Ta remained intact during processing and exhibits an approximately uniform spatial distribution of LPs. By contrast, Ta/Cu fractured by longitudinal splitting. LPs in this latter sample are concentrated near the sample surfaces. Moreover, their density increases with decreasing distance to the fracture surface. These findings show that materials undergoing ARB may remain intact, despite profuse formation of LPs, provided that the LPs are uniformly distributed. However, a non-uniform distribution of LPs is correlated with longitudinal splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work elucidates the effect of interface orientation, loading mode, and crystallography on the deformation mechanisms of Cu-Nb-multilayered nanocomposites. Molecular dynamics simulations of deformation behavior of accumulative roll-bonded Cu-Nb-multilayered nanocomposites (MNCs) were performed at room temperature conditions and at a constant strain rate under iso-stress and iso-strain conditions. Interface deformation mechanisms involving nucleation of partial dislocation at the interface and gliding in the Cu layer were observed under iso-stress and iso-strain conditions. Uniaxial stress-strain curves were analyzed for tension and compression under iso-stress and iso-strain loading conditions. The stress-strain plots were explored to understand the elastic, yield, and post-yielding behavior of Cu-Nb MNCs. Under compression with interface orientation normal to the loading direction, twin nucleated via gliding of partial dislocations. Under tension in the iso-stress case, only slip-assisted deformation was observed. Conversely, the deformation behavior under compression and tension was via slip and twinning, respectively, for iso-strain conditions., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Welded joints exhibit fatigue failure potential from weld geometry and characteristics of the heat affected zone. In order to counteract fatigue, structures and components require larger thicknesses resulting in heavier designs exhausting the finite natural resources. We hereby introduce a novel post-weld treatment, which postpones or even prevents fatigue failure of the welded connection. A Cu/Ni nanostructured metallic multilayer (NMM) is applied via electrodeposition and a 300–600% increase in usable lifetime compared to the untreated weld is observed. A FAT class 190 with a slope of k = 6 is proposed for the design of NMM treated butt welds. Material mechanisms responsible for the fatigue strength increase are introduced herein. A case study shows that the design of offshore wind turbine support structures applying NMM post-weld treatment enables a lifetime extension as well as a 28% weight reduction compared to the structure without post-weld treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential to discover an affordable electrode for the glucose detection application, which can be easily prepared. In this regard, we report a novel non-enzymatic glucose sensor that utilizes a free-standing electrode with a hybrid structure consisting of nanoporous CuZn/CuO nanoparticle (NPC/CuO). This electrode was fabricated through the process of dealloying the Zn80Cu20 precursor alloy and subsequent natural oxidation. We conducted a thorough investigation of the phase structure and morphology evolution. The results revealed that the NPC/CuO composite-based glucose biosensor displayed remarkable electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation, exhibiting a high sensitivity of 2.33 mAcm−2 mM−1, wide linear range from 0 to 3.5 mM, low detection limit of 2.42 μM, excellent selectivity and suitable stability. These outstanding characteristics were attributed to the combined effect of the electroactive CuO and the nanoporous structure. These findings highlight that NPC/CuO composites have the potential to replace expensive noble metal biosensors in non-enzymatic glucose detection. By leveraging the cooperative effect of the nanostructure and copper oxide, these composites offer promising prospects for future development in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature-dependent [from room temperature (RT) to 500°C] nanoindentation behavior of a precipitation-strengthened Al0.3Ti0.2Co0.7CrFeNi1.7 high-entropy alloy (HEA) processed via two different additive manufacturing (AM) techniques was investigated in the as-deposited and annealed conditions. The hierarchically heterogeneous microstructures were achieved via simple one-step annealing treatments, exploiting the residual stresses in the AM-processed HEA to partially recrystallize the microstructure, performed remarkably better than the nearly homogeneous microstructures in the as-deposited state. The one-step annealed conditions revealed < 6.6% reduction in hardness values at 500°C compared to RT, while the as-deposited conditions showed a > 18% reduction in the hardness. The one-step annealed conditions also exhibited significantly higher hardness than the as-deposited conditions owing to their L12-strengthened FCC microstructures. Furthermore, serrated yielding or the Portevin-Le Chatlier effect indicative of microstructural instability was observed during nanoindentation deformation (at 500°C) for the as-deposited conditions but not for the one-step annealed conditions. This, therefore, signifies the robustness of the hierarchically heterogeneous microstructures at elevated temperatures presenting a strong avenue for tuning the HEAs for future nuclear reactor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Ta/Cu nanocomposites have been widely used in therapeutic medical devices due to their excellent bioactivity and biocompatibility, antimicrobial property, and outstanding corrosion and wear resistance. Since mechanical yielding and any other deformation in the patient's body during treatment are unacceptable in medicine, the characterization of the mechanical behavior of these nanomaterials is of great importance. We focus on the microstructural evolution of Ta/Cu nanocomposite samples under uniaxial tensile loading conditions at different strain rates using a series of molecular dynamics simulations and compare to the reference case of pure Ta. The results show that the increase in dislocation density at lower strain rates leads to the significant weakening of the mechanical properties. The strain rate-dependent plastic deformation mechanism of the samples can be divided into three main categories: phase transitions at the extreme strain rates, dislocation slip/twinning at lower strain rates for coarse-grained samples, and grain-boundary based activities for the finer-grained samples. Finally, we demonstrate that the load transfer from the Ta matrix to the Cu nanoparticles via the interfacial region can significantly affect the plastic deformation of the matrix in all nanocomposite samples. These results will prove useful for the design of therapeutic implants based on Ta/Cu nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compression of a magnetic material leads to a change in its magnetic properties. We examine this effect using spin-lattice dynamics for the special case of bcc-Fe, using both single- and poly-crystalline Fe and a bicontinuous nanofoam structure. We find that during the elastic phase of compression, the magnetization increases due to a higher population of the nearest-neighbor shell of atoms and the resulting higher exchange interaction of neighboring spins. In contrast, in the plastic phase of compression, the magnetization sinks, as defects are created, increasing the disorder and typically decreasing the average atom coordination number. The effects are more pronounced in single crystals than in polycrystals, since the presence of defects in the form of grain boundaries counteracts the increase in magnetization during the elastic phase of compression. Also, the effects are more pronounced at temperatures close to the Curie temperature than at room temperature. In nanofoams, the effect of compression is minor since compression proceeds more by void reduction and filament bending—with negligible effect on magnetization—than by strain within the ligaments. These findings will prove useful for tailoring magnetization under strain by introducing plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we shed light on newly emerging perspectives to characterize and understand the interplay of diffusive mass transport and surface catalytic processes in pores of gas phase metal catalysts. As a case study, nanoporous gold, as an interesting example exhibiting a well-defined pore structure and a high activity for total and partial oxidation reactions is considered. PFG NMR (pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance) measurements allowed here for a quantitative evaluation of gas diffusivities within the material. STEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy) tomography furthermore provided additional insight into the structural details of the pore system, helping to judge which of its features are most decisive for slowing down mass transport. Based on the quantitative knowledge about the diffusion coefficients inside a porous catalyst, it becomes possible to disentangle mass transport contributions form the measured reaction kinetics and to determine the kinetic rate constant of the underlying catalytic surface reaction. In addition, predictions can be made for an improved effectiveness of the catalyst, i.e., optimized conversion rates. This approach will be discussed at the example of low-temperature CO oxidation, efficiently catalysed by npAu at 30 °C. The case study shall reveal that novel porous materials exhibiting well-defined micro- and mesoscopic features and sufficient catalytic activity, in combination with modern techniques to evaluate diffusive transport, offer interesting new opportunities for an integral understanding of catalytic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chirality has an important impact on chemical and biological research, as most active substances are chiral. In recent decades, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), which are assembled from metal ions or clusters and organic linkers via metal-ligand bonding, have attracted considerable scientific interest due to their high crystallinity, exceptional porosity and tunable pore sizes, high modularity, and diverse functionalities. Since the discovery of the first functional chiral metal-organic frameworks (CMOFs), CMOFs have been involved in a variety of disciplines such as chemistry, physics, optics, medicine, and pharmacology. The introduction of defect engineering theory into CMOFs allows the construction of a class of defective CMOFs with high hydrothermal stability and multi-stage pore structure. The introduction of defects not only increases the active sites but also enlarges the pore sizes of the materials, which improves chiral recognition, separation, and catalytic reactions, and has been widely investigated in various fields. This review describes the design and synthesis of various defective CMOFs, their characterization, and applications. Finally, the development of the materials is summarized, and an outlook is given. This review should provide researchers with an insight into the design and study of complex defective CMOFs., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Nanoporous metals can serve in unique functional applications due to their high surface area, and they are often made through dealloying, which removes a sacrificial element through chemical etching and leaves a nanoporous matrix of the remaining element(s). Several variations on this technique allow for a wider variety of metals and alloys to be processed, but simple, scalable, and reliable production of nanoporous devices is still not a reality using the majority of techniques and alloy systems. Oxide reduction may provide a suitable alternative, and in this work, nanoporous Cu was produced via oxide reduction in the Cu–CuO system. This method uses mechanical milling to create a metal matrix composite powder primarily composed of CuO that is reduced under hydrogen to leave pure Cu behind. It requires no harsh chemicals, and it uses modest temperatures and short reaction times. Furthermore, it is fully compatible with traditional powder metallurgy, making it readily scalable. Powder compacts were also processed to track the geometric changes associated with each composition and demonstrate that device creation is feasible, even with the basic process applied here. This work reveals important parameters associated with these materials by incorporating a wide range of milling times and compositions, with shorter milling times and higher oxide concentrations providing the finest pore sizes, the highest porosity, and the greatest simplicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) is characterized by the sudden loss of a material's mechanical property due to the premature failure induced by the ingress of H atoms and various H‐materials interactions. This phenomenon threatens almost all the metallic materials that brings an abrupt halt to some of the pending infrastructures needed for a H economy. The development of microstructure design strategies to mitigate HE is challenging, as the fundamental mechanisms for HE process are still not well understood. Nevertheless, some progresses in this field have been made in recent years. Here, we provide an overview on established microstructural approaches to mitigate HE in metallic materials. These methods include second‐phase trapping, grain refinement, grain boundary engineering, solute segregation and heterogeneity, and surface treatment. Their effectiveness and materials applicability are compared. The operating mechanisms, advantages, and limitations of these approaches are also discussed to guide their future development and successful industrial application. Highlights: H embrittlement threatens the development of infrastructures needed for a H economy.Five microstructure design strategies to mitigate H embrittlement are reviewed.Effectiveness, advantages, and limitations of these H‐tolerant approaches are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twin boundary (TB) plays an important role in the deformation process of materials. In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was used to investigate the nanoindentation deformation behaviour of single-crystal FeCoCrNiCu high entropy alloy (SC-HEA) and nano-twinned FeCoCrNiCu high entropy alloy (NT-HEA) with different twin spacings. It is found that the main characteristic of plastic deformation of SC-HEA is the dislocation loop emission. The dislocation movement and distribution of NT-HEA are very different from that of SC-HEA. We found that partial dislocation slip parallel to the twin boundary (PSPTB) and twin partial slip (TPS) can lead to alloy softening. The hindrance of the TB causes the dislocation to slip within a single layer (known as confined layer slip, CLS), which strengthens the material. In the process of nanoindentation, the softening and strengthening mechanisms are constantly competing. When the twin spacing is larger than 1.23 nm, CLS dominates the competition with the hardening mechanism, and the hardness of the material increases with the decrease of the twin spacing. When the twin spacing is less than 1.23 nm, the dominant mechanism of plastic deformation changes to the softening mechanism controlled by TPS, and the hardness thus decreases as twin spacing increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UO2-BeO is an important composite nuclear fuel with high thermal conductivity. The impact of grain boundaries between UO2-UO2 and phase boundaries between UO2-BeO on the bubble evolution and the thermal conductivity in nuclear fuels is significant. In this study, we utilize a 3D phase field model to examine the influence of these boundaries on the nucleation and growth of bubbles in a bicrystalline UO2-BeO. Our simulations reveal that the diffusion of vacancies and gas atoms towards the phase boundaries results in bubbles preferentially forming at the phase boundaries. Intergranular bubbles possess an asymmetrical lectical shape due to the long-range diffusion-controlled boundary migration and the different defect production rate on the both sides. Spherical intragranular bubbles appear after the intergranular bubbles with high defects production rates and large grain size. The effective thermal conductivity decreases with the irradiation time and shows three distinct stages for systems that have both inter- and intragranular bubbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]