{"title":"Precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of 16Cr−25Ni austenitic stainless steel weld metals with different Mo content during aging","authors":"Chenghao Liu, Jian Sun, Shanping Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.072","url":null,"abstract":"In this work, 16Cr−25Ni austenitic stainless steel weld metals (WM) were prepared with Mo contents of 6.3 wt.% and 2.4 wt.%. The evolution of precipitates and their influence on the impact fracture behavior of two WMs under as-weld, post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), and aging after PWHT conditions were systematically studied. The results showed that the reduction of Mo content changed the precipitation behavior of precipitated phases in the WMs. The 6.3 wt.% Mo WM contained <em>M</em><sub>6</sub>C carbides, <em>M</em><sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub> carbides, and <em>M</em><sub>2</sub>(C, N) carbonitrides. However, only the <em>M</em><sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub> carbides were present in the 2.4 wt.% Mo WM. The <em>M</em><sub>6</sub>C carbides remained stable in the interdendritic regions (IDRs) of the 6.3 wt.% Mo WM for aging 5000 h after PWHT. The <em>M</em><sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub> carbides and <em>M</em><sub>2</sub>(C, N) carbonitrides aggregated in IDRs. Additionally, approximately 71 nm of <em>M</em><sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub> carbides precipitated semi-continuously along the grain boundaries (GBs). In the 2.4 wt.% Mo WM for aging 5000 h after PWHT, <em>M</em><sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub> carbides were distributed in the IDRs and dendrite core regions (DCRs). Along the GBs, continuous <em>M</em><sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub> precipitates about 252 nm in size were observed. As the Mo content of the WM decreased, the tensile strength decreased slightly, but its impact toughness increased significantly under different conditions. During the impact of the WMs, deformation twins, deformation bands, dislocation slip, and secondary phases interacted to influence impact toughness. Deformation twins and deformation bands contributed to the impact toughness of the WMs. However, the number of deformation twins in the 2.4 wt.% Mo WM was always higher than that in the 6.3 wt.% Mo WM. For aging 5000 h after PWHT, micron-size <em>M</em><sub>6</sub>C carbides caused crack initiation, and nano-size <em>M</em><sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub> carbides and <em>M</em><sub>2</sub>(C, N) carbonitrides clusters in the IDRs of the 6.3 wt.% Mo WM strongly impeded dislocations, making IDRs preferred paths for crack propagation. In the 2.4 wt.% Mo WM, <em>M</em><sub>23</sub>C<sub>6</sub> along GBs provided significant dislocation pinning. This caused GBs to be the primary crack initiation and propagation paths.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143933448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Accelerated grain boundary relaxation via low temperature thermal cycling","authors":"Linlin Fu, Qi Zhu, Zengyan Wei, Jing Qiao, Gaohui Wu, Huajian Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.070","url":null,"abstract":"Grain boundaries (GB) can exhibit multiple phases with distinct atomic structures, significantly impacting the physical and mechanical properties of materials. Under external stimuli, transitions between different GB phases frequently occur, yet the underlying atomistic mechanism remains insufficiently understood. Here, using molecular dynamics simulation, we uncover an accelerated GB relaxation mechanism through metastable-to-equilibrium GB phase transition induced by thermal cycling in aluminum. In the [100] symmetrical tilt GB, thermal cycling between 200 and 400 K accelerates the split-kite to normal-kite phase transition. This phase transition is driven by the hydrostatic stress-induced formation of localized vacancies and the immediate insertion of nearby atoms at the GB, distinguishing it from the conventional transition mechanism involving long-range atomic diffusion in isothermal annealing process. The kinetics of GB phase transitions is systematically investigated, clarifying their dependence on critical thermal cycling parameters, including maximum temperature <em>T</em><sub>max</sub>, thermal amplitude Δ<em>T</em>, and cyclic number <em>N</em>. A saturated transition ratio of approximately 30% is also observed through thermal cycling, which exceeds that after isothermal annealing, leading to enhanced GB mobility.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xia Zhao, Hongda Ren, Cong Wang, Dan Yang, Xin Mu, Lina Wu, Chunbo Liu, Zhao Zhao, Huaqiao Tan
{"title":"β-ketoenamine based covalent heptazine polymers with significantly superior photocatalytic activity to g-C3N4","authors":"Xia Zhao, Hongda Ren, Cong Wang, Dan Yang, Xin Mu, Lina Wu, Chunbo Liu, Zhao Zhao, Huaqiao Tan","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.04.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.04.013","url":null,"abstract":"The rational design of new covalent heptazine polymers (CHPs) is one of the current hot and challenging topics in the field of photocatalytic materials, due to its great potential prospects, limited available monomers, and reaction types. Herein, two novel CHPs (MT and MTA) were successfully prepared by the Michael addition-elimination reaction of melem with β-ketoenamine monomer 1,3,5-tris(3-dimethylamino-1-oxoprop-2-en-yl)benzene (TDOEB) and 1,3,5-tris(4-(3-dimethylamino-1-oxoprop-2-en-yl)phenyl)triazine (TDOEPTA), respectively. Experiments combined with density functional theoretical calculations revealed that β-ketoenamine fragments bridging greatly improved the conjugation of MT and MTA, and its light absorption was significantly expanded to over 600 nm. The donor-acceptor structure between melem and β-ketoenamine moieties led to a significant reduction of exciton binding energy (<em>E</em><sub>b</sub>), promoting the dissociation of excitons and oxygen activation, and thus exhibiting superior photocatalytic activity for bromination reaction, [3+2] cycloaddition reaction, selective oxidation of phenyl C–H bond and thioether with both conversion and selectivity more than 99%. This work opens up a new approach for the synthesis of highly efficient CHPs and expands their applications in photocatalytic organic synthesis.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yun-Peng Meng, Hai-Long Jia, Min Zha, Shi-Chao Wang, Zu-Lai Li, Hui-Yuan Wang
{"title":"Enhanced strength-ductility of a Mg-Al-Sn alloy by the synergy of solute segregation and nano-sized precipitates","authors":"Yun-Peng Meng, Hai-Long Jia, Min Zha, Shi-Chao Wang, Zu-Lai Li, Hui-Yuan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.02.094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.02.094","url":null,"abstract":"There is a challenge in preparing dilute magnesium (Mg) alloys with excellent mechanical properties. In the present study, the yield strength (YS) of a Mg-Al-Sn-Ca-Zn-Mn alloy increases significantly (∼93 MPa) by changing the Ca/Zn ratio, while maintaining a good ductility. Particularly, the YS, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), and elongation to fracture (EF) of the Mg-2Al-1Sn-0.5Ca-0.1Zn-0.2Mn (XZ51) alloy reaches ∼321+2 -2MPa, ∼357+3 -5MPa and ∼14.8+1.4 -0.8%, respectively. A systematic microstructural investigation indicates that the high YS is principally driven by grain boundary strengthening caused by Al-Ca-Zn co-segregation and nano-sized precipitates. In addition, nano-sized precipitates can effectively inhibit dislocations and thus increase the strength. The type of solute segregation plays a major role in improving YS. When the Al-Zn co-segregation at grain boundaries changes to Al-Ca-Zn co-segregation, the ability of grain boundaries to hinder dislocation slips is significantly enhanced. It forces dislocations to pile up at grain boundaries decorated with Al-Ca-Zn co-segregation, which in turn increases the YS. Additionally, the heavily accumulated dislocations lead to stress concentration at grain boundaries, which effectively facilitates the activation of non-basal slips. This contributes to the improved ductility of the annealed XZ51 alloy. This work presents a reference for elevating mechanical properties of dilute Mg alloys via tailoring GB segregation and nano-sized precipitates.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Harness multifunctional mofs derivatives for epoxy resin: Upgrade both flame retardancy and toughness via interface engineering and expand applications","authors":"Yutong Huo, Shengbo Fang, Wanghai Chen, Jiazi Hou, Ming Gao, Yanli Dou","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.071","url":null,"abstract":"With the wide application of epoxy resin (EP) in modern industry, the demand for its multifunctionality and high performance has become increasingly critical. In this study, we developed an innovative multifunctional nanohybrid material, BZrP@CoSn(OH)<sub>6</sub>, through a combination of in situ growth and ion-exchange strategies. This nanohybrid was uniformly incorporated into the EP matrix, delivering transformative improvements to its properties. At an optimized loading of 5 wt%, BZrP@CoSn(OH)<sub>6</sub> enabled the composites to achieve the vertical combustion test (UL-94) V0 rating, alongside notable reductions in peak heat release rate (pHRR), total smoke production (TSP), peak carbon monoxide release (pCOP), and total volatile products by 54.0%, 48.1%, 46.9%, and 63.3%, respectively. The synergistic action of zirconium phosphate and bimetallic catalysis greatly improves the residue yield, and the formation of a strong char layer acts as an effective physical barrier. The mechanical interlocked structure between BZrP@CoSn(OH)<sub>6</sub> and the matrix facilitated a strong interfacial bond, leading to substantial improvements in mechanical performance, with tensile strength and elongation at break increasing by 40.4% and 63.7%. Additionally, the nanohybrids enhanced the thermal conductivity and endowed the composite with remarkable antibacterial and ultraviolet (UV) shielding properties. This work demonstrates the synergistic effect of interface engineering and nanohybrid materials in achieving a harmonious balance between flame retardancy and multifunctionality, offering a promising strategy for the design and application of high-performance epoxy resin composites.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhenbo Zhang, Emmanouil Stavroulakis, David Stewart, Michael Preuss
{"title":"Architecting new materials with strength-ductility synergy through interphase engineering","authors":"Zhenbo Zhang, Emmanouil Stavroulakis, David Stewart, Michael Preuss","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.02.092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.02.092","url":null,"abstract":"Conventional strategies to strengthen alloys are usually accompanied by drastic sacrifice in ductility, which is known as the strength-ductility trade-off. New metallurgical processing approaches are required to defeat this longstanding dilemma. Here we report a novel solid-state powder manufacturing route to overcome this challenge enabling the architecting of a complex multiphase constituent composite using readily available metal powder as a feedstock. The materials design philosophy is successfully verified in a system mixing conventional austenitic stainless steel and ferritic steel powder and consolidating it by hot isostatic pressing. Significant strengthening and work hardenability are achieved at no expense of ductility compared to the ferrite and austenite on their own. Such extraordinary strength-ductility synergy is attributed to the well-architected compositional gradients across different phases resulting in soft and hard regions at the scale of the original powder without sharp interfaces. Accordingly, plasticity progresses from soft to hard regions during mechanical loading, which is the key to mitigating the deformation incompatibility and enabling remarkable ductility. Our study provides a new concept for materials design with synergistic properties that used to be trade-offs in conventional materials, which is applicable to a broad range of material systems with unprecedented multifunctionality.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143926658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fei Liu, Hao Li, Jiarui Huang, Junhao Yang, Shaojun Liu
{"title":"Rapid fabrication of CaTiO3-SmAlO3 microwave ceramics with ultra-high Q × f values and temperature stability for millimeter-wave communication applications","authors":"Fei Liu, Hao Li, Jiarui Huang, Junhao Yang, Shaojun Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.065","url":null,"abstract":"Technologically important titanate-based microwave ceramics usually suffer the deterioration of the dielectric properties from the induced oxygen vacancy during the lengthy sintering process. Rapid densification that could significantly suppress the generation of oxygen vacancies in 0.7CaTiO<sub>3</sub>-0.3SmAlO<sub>3</sub> (CT-SA) ceramics is realized by microwave sintering. The oxygen vacancy concentration in CT-SA ceramics sintered by microwave sintering is lower than that of ceramics by conventional sintering, thereby reducing the ion conduction and electrical resistance. CT-SA ceramics sintered by microwave sintering demonstrate better temperature stability, resulting from the attenuated space charge polarization related to oxygen vacancy concentration and the weakened dielectric relaxation processes associated with defect polarization. CT-SA ceramics sintered by microwave sintering for only 1 h exhibit excellent dielectric properties: <em>Q × f</em>=49,300 GHz, <em>ε</em><sub>r</sub>=42.8, and <em>τ<sub>f</sub></em>=0.91 ppm/°C, which is 15% enhancement in <em>Q × f</em> values compared to ceramics by conventional sintering for 4 h. Especially, CT-SA ceramic dielectric resonator antenna fabricated by microwave sintering with >90% radiation efficiency was resonated at 7.85 GHz (<em>S</em><sub>11</sub>=−33.98 dB), demonstrating the promising potential for millimeter-wave communication applications.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143926659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kang Chen, Yunqi Jia, Fen Liu, Xusheng Yang, Yi Jia, Jiangwen Liu, Hui Wang, Liuzhang Ouyang
{"title":"In situ synthesis of Ni-based catalyst for ambient-temperature CO2 methanation using rare-metal hydrides: Unveiling the reaction pathway and catalytic mechanism","authors":"Kang Chen, Yunqi Jia, Fen Liu, Xusheng Yang, Yi Jia, Jiangwen Liu, Hui Wang, Liuzhang Ouyang","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.058","url":null,"abstract":"Converting CO<sub>2</sub> into high value-added chemical fuels through coupling with renewable hydrogen, has emerged as a pivotal strategy to address environmental pollution and tackle energy supply issues. However, the high chemical inertness of CO<sub>2</sub> molecules and the complex multi-electron transfer processes involved in CO<sub>2</sub> hydrogenation pose significant challenges, leading to large energy barriers and poor product selectivity. Traditional chemical catalysts typically require harsh conditions such as high temperatures, pressures, and/or additives to overcome these barriers and accelerate sluggish reaction kinetics. Herein, we report a mechanochemical-force-driven strategy for the in situ synthesis of Ni nanoparticles supported on La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (Ni/La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>), which enables efficient CO<sub>2</sub> methanation at room temperature using LaNi<sub>5</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>/CO<sub>2</sub> mixed gas as source materials. The experimental findings assuredly corroborate that CO<sub>2</sub> methanation proceeds through the formate route in the LaNi<sub>5</sub>-[CO<sub>2</sub>+H<sub>2</sub>] system. This pathway involves the absorption of H<sub>2</sub> by LaNi<sub>5</sub>, dissociation of hydrogen atoms, and their reaction with the formed La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> to generate surface hydroxyl groups. These hydroxyl groups play a crucial role in facilitating the dissociative adsorption of CO<sub>2</sub> on La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, resulting in the formation of carbonate and bicarbonate intermediates. Subsequently, these intermediates are continuously hydrogenated by the hydrogen atom flux from LaNi<sub>5</sub>H<em><sub>x</sub></em>, ultimately producing formate and methane. Our experimental and computational results demonstrate that modulating a metallic Ni active site center through direct interaction with a La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> support and exposing CO<sub>2</sub> to active hydrogen atoms sourced from metal hydrides may be a powerful strategy for promoting novel reactivity paradigms in CO<sub>2</sub> catalytic reduction reactions.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"78 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Engineering of zinc-bismuth binary microspheres and evaluation of ZnBi-rich primer for corrosion protection of steel in marine environment","authors":"Chunping Qi, Kim Dam-Johansen, Hao Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.04.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.04.012","url":null,"abstract":"Zinc-rich primers (ZRPs) are highly effective for steel corrosion protection. In this study, two types of zinc-bismuth binary microspheres (ZnBi1 and ZnBi2) were produced via co-evaporation of zinc and bismuth under gas flow rates of 4 Nl/min and 0.3 Nl/min. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectrometer, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry analyses showed that both ZnBi1 and ZnBi2 particles were heterogeneous solidified mixtures, with Zn and Bi non-uniformly distributed in individual particles. ZnBi1, with finer particle size, exhibited higher self-corrosion and galvanic corrosion rates in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution in its pulverized state. The particles were incorporated into ZRPs, and their sacrificial effects were evaluated using a salt spray exposure test, open circuit potential (OCP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Compared to conventional ZRP containing 78 wt.% commercial zinc dust, the coating with 78 wt.% ZnBi1 particles exhibited enhanced cathodic protection at an early stage of exposure due to promoted sacrificial oxidation of zinc at damaged areas. However, the accelerated zinc oxidation led to a shortened cathodic protection duration as observed in the OCP result. A combination of ZnBi particles and commercial zinc dust mitigated the intense galvanic function, resulting in a more stable galvanic activity and improved anticorrosion performance.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Panmei Liu, Shuo Ma, Yuan Huang, Yongchang Liu, Zumin Wang
{"title":"Tailoring the ultra-fine size and thermal stability of Au(Cu) nanoparticles by application of interface thermodynamics","authors":"Panmei Liu, Shuo Ma, Yuan Huang, Yongchang Liu, Zumin Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2025.03.068","url":null,"abstract":"Ultra-fine sizes and high thermal stability are often mutually exclusive for nanocrystalline (NC) materials because the high grain boundary (GB) energy of nanograins provides a large driving force for grain coarsening. Alloying is a classical strategy for stabilizing the microstructure of NC materials. However, the stabilization effects of alloying on NC materials typically rely on the segregation of solute atoms at GBs, which imposes restrictions on the selection of possible alloy systems. In this study, it is revealed experimentally and corroborated theoretically that the interface energies can be continuously regulated by simply manipulating the alloy composition in simple solid-solution alloy systems, enabling the control of the ultra-fine sizes and thermal stability of the alloys without GB segregation. In a model system of NC Au(Cu)-SiO<sub>2</sub> films, the dissolved Cu in Au can be used as a very accurate tool to tailor the interface energies of NC Au(Cu)-SiO<sub>2</sub> film, leading to ultra-fine (below 2 nm) Au(Cu) nanoparticles with exceptional thermal stability. Such Cu-induced grain refinement and thermal stabilization effects are supported by interface thermodynamic calculations. This study thus provides an alloying stabilization strategy without GB segregation, which broadens the scope for developing thermally stable NC alloy systems.","PeriodicalId":16154,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Materials Science & Technology","volume":"126 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}