Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-05-17DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121099
Rui Li , Serdar Torun , Jacob Santiago , Daniel Salas , Bibhu P. Sahu , Ibrahim Karaman , Joseph H. Ross Jr.
{"title":"Random strains and strain glass transformations in NiTiHf and NiTiZr systems: An NMR study","authors":"Rui Li , Serdar Torun , Jacob Santiago , Daniel Salas , Bibhu P. Sahu , Ibrahim Karaman , Joseph H. Ross Jr.","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121099","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121099","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, we investigated Hf and Zr substituted nitinol shape memory alloys using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, focusing on alloys tuned by thermal processing for martensite-transforming and non-transforming behavior. Ni<sub>50.75</sub>Ti<sub>29.25</sub>Zr<sub>20</sub> and Ni<sub>50.3</sub>Ti<sub>29.7</sub>Hf<sub>20</sub> non-transforming samples were found to exhibit a glass transition, shown very clearly in NMR by the development of large random local strains, despite no evidence for transformation in X-ray crystallography or calorimetry. These non-transforming samples maintain electronic similarity to the B2 cubic phase, indicating that the strain nano-domains are not locally equivalent to martensite. Using NMR relaxation measurements as a highly sensitive probe into kHz and MHz scale dynamical strains, in a NiTiHf sample tuned for strain glass behavior we identified non-Vogel Fulcher dynamical behavior, with rapidly fluctuating local strains developing in the high temperature strain-liquid regime, accompanied by the gradual disappearance of quasi-static dynamics above and below the glass freezing point. Notably, the results also show a clear difference between the dynamical behavior of the strain glass and a NiTiZr non-transforming sample with greater defect density, which exhibits frozen random strain below a well-defined transformation point but without the appearance of any strain-glass dynamics. This demonstrates the possibility for defect driven nanodomain distortions with no strain-glass behavior. These findings highlight the ability of NMR as a powerful tool for investigating the dynamics and local structures in these materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121099"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144067351","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}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-05-17DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121153
Le Zhang , Liqiang He , Chenglong Zhang , Shuyuan Xu , Shurong Li , Zhibo Yang , Yang Zhang , Haijun Wu , Dong Wang , Sen Yang
{"title":"Superior electrostrain with excellent thermal stability by constructing glassy ferroelectric crossover","authors":"Le Zhang , Liqiang He , Chenglong Zhang , Shuyuan Xu , Shurong Li , Zhibo Yang , Yang Zhang , Haijun Wu , Dong Wang , Sen Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121153","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121153","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Simultaneous enhancement in both strain response and thermal stability has been a longstanding challenge in lead-free ferroelectrics due to the failure in stabilizing the microstructure features of large electrostrain over a wide temperature range, viewed as a considerable limitation for practical utility. In this work, a promising electrostrain of approximately 0.4 % with a fluctuation of <5 % within the temperature range of 300–380 K is attained in the Ta-modified (Bi, Na)TiO<sub>3</sub>-BaTiO<sub>3</sub> ceramics through constructing a glassy ferroelectric crossover near the composition displaying the field-induced transitions from relaxor to coexistent rhombohedral+tetragonal ferroelectric phases of MPB (relaxor→MPB). It exceeds the electrostrain performance of neighboring compositions unilaterally displaying relaxor→MPB transition or pure glassy behavior when taking both electrostrain amplitude and thermal stability into consideration. Phase field simulation indicates that the combination of enhanced electrostrain and excellent thermal stability is ascribed to the embedding the nano-scaled glassy ferroelectric state within the MPB region of the relaxor→MPB composition, a feature enabled through introducing local fields by Ta-doping process. The optimal coexistence of micro and nano domain patterns in designed glassy ferroelectric crossover smears the microstructural difference between relaxor and MPB ferroelectric regions. It allows the easy and recoverable domain wall motion across a wide temperature range, resulting in the favorable electrostrain output with excellent thermal stability. This research proposes a novel strategy for improving thermal-stable electrostrain amplitude in eco-friendly ferroelectrics, thereby facilitating the advancement of lead-free piezoelectric technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121153"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144083247","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}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-05-15DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121145
Seunghee Oh , Rachel Lim , Andrew Chihpin Chuang , Benjamin Gould , Ashley Bucsek , Anthony Rollett
{"title":"Multiscale investigation of thermomechanical and compositional developments in Ni alloy 718 under laser processing","authors":"Seunghee Oh , Rachel Lim , Andrew Chihpin Chuang , Benjamin Gould , Ashley Bucsek , Anthony Rollett","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121145","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121145","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Laser processing has been widely employed in various applications due to its exceptional spatial resolution. However, the rapid temperature gradients generated in localized areas present significant challenges for experimental characterization using conventional instruments. To characterize Ni alloy 718 during laser processing, we employed in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction with a high-speed detector, a method particularly well-suited for probing processes with high temporal and spatial resolution. Through a series of in-situ experiments, we investigated the local variations in the evolution of microstructures and thermomechanical behaviors within a keyhole mode melt pool. The in situ macroscopic thermomechanical behaviors were quantified using an empirical model derived from diffraction patterns, with experimental results showing reasonable agreement with finite element analysis. Various laser parameters were tested to assess their influences on the residual strains in the melt pools. The results revealed that the residual strain in the keyhole mode melt pool is relatively insensitive to variations in the parameters and is smaller than that in the melt pool created under conduction mode laser scanning. Additionally, we analyzed the shapes of individual diffraction spots, providing insights into the plastic behaviors and compositional developments in the resolidified alloy. The analysis confirmed that compositional variations in a dendritic microstructure manifest as asymmetric broadening of the diffraction spots.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121145"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143979999","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":"Creep-induced elemental redistribution at grain boundaries of 304L stainless steel – An experimental evidence for diffusional creep mechanisms","authors":"Boopathy Kombaiah , Sriswaroop Dasari , Chaitanya Bhave , Ninad Mohale , Advika Chesetti , Sourabh Bhagwan Kadambi","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121137","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121137","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seventy-five years ago, Nabarro and Herring—and subsequently, Coble—theorized Newtonian diffusional creep mechanisms in crystalline materials. They postulated that the deformation rate is governed by the flow of atoms along the direction of applied stress via a vacancy-atom exchange mechanism under diffusional creep conditions. These theories render a compelling picture for materials scientists to design microstructures with improved creep resistance. However, they remain vigorously debated due to a dearth of direct experimental evidence and poor predictions of the observed creep rates in certain materials and conditions. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that, in alloys undergoing diffusional creep, elemental redistribution would manifest at nearby grain boundaries if the diffusivities of the alloying elements were significantly different. Furthermore, the extent of elemental redistribution would vary depending on the orientation of the grain boundary with respect to the tensile loading axis. To this end, 304L stainless steel alloy tensile specimens were crept under relatively low applied stresses (2.5-15 MPa) at 750°C. Chemical composition at the grain boundaries in the deformed and undeformed sections of the specimen were then compared and the trends were rationalized using thermodynamic and kinetic modeling. In support of our hypothesis, the results revealed a notable change in the nature and extent of creep-induced elemental redistribution (CIER). Our experimental observations of CIER, complemented with modeling results, suggested the occurrence of Newtonian diffusional creep. Further mechanistic understanding of diffusional creep via characterization and modeling of CIER is expected to make the approach more viable and enable new pathways for designing advanced creep-resistant materials for extreme environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121137"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143940140","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}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-05-13DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121136
Long Jin , Ming-Liang Zhu , Xiao-Long Li , Qing-Rong Xiong , Yu-Ke Liu , Fu-Zhen Xuan
{"title":"Thermal activation and lattice misfit induced material degradation in a low alloy steel","authors":"Long Jin , Ming-Liang Zhu , Xiao-Long Li , Qing-Rong Xiong , Yu-Ke Liu , Fu-Zhen Xuan","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121136","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121136","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbides, one of the principal phases of material strengthening, are often associated with material properties. For low alloy steels in nuclear pressure vessels, carbide coarsening rate is often deemed as low or fixed and thermal aging happens only after a considerable period of time. However, the coarsening mechanism in this kind of material has yet been fully understood. Here we investigated the evolution of microstructure and cementite during thermal aging of a low alloy steel. The preferential growth direction of cementite was found to be determined by its innate lattice arrangement and misfit interfaces with the matrix, which was verified by first-principles calculations. A first-of-its-kind four-stage mechanism of cementite coarsening and transformation was proposed. We discovered carbide coarsening associated with material degradation is well represented by more difficult grain rotation and slip blocking, and average carbide length and upper shelf energy are linearly related. This work not only reveals the ever-believed aging-free low alloy steels are ageable, but empowers future design and handling of long-life materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121136"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143945855","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}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-05-13DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121044
Georgiy Marchiy, Dmitry Samsonov, Eugene Mukhin
{"title":"Spectral model for grain boundary segregation in systems with strong solute–solute interactions","authors":"Georgiy Marchiy, Dmitry Samsonov, Eugene Mukhin","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Solute segregation at grain boundaries is emerging as a promising tool for the stabilization of polycrystals against grain growth. Modern approaches to segregation modeling are based on employing atomistic grain boundary segregation spectra. Currently, there is no spectral model that accounts for solute–solute interactions beyond the random mixing approximation. The paper shows that such interactions are crucial for the Ag(Ni) system, which is the focus of this study. We derive the Gibbs free energy for a spectral model of grain boundary segregation that properly captures solute–solute interactions strong enough to violate the random mixing assumption. Strong attractive interactions have been shown to be independent of solute concentration and can be directly incorporated into the segregation spectrum. Moreover, at zero temperature, all types of solute–solute interactions can be incorporated into the segregation spectrum, allowing the calculation of zero-temperature stability scores with regard to solute–solute interactions. This may enhance the reliability of screening for stable nanocrystalline alloys. Finally, the model incorporating solute–solute interactions into the segregation spectrum has been shown to provide a reliable approximation for systems exhibiting strong solute–solute interactions, even at moderate temperatures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121044"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143945852","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}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-05-12DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121135
Moishe Y.E. Azoff-Slifstein , Anshuman Thakral , Sadiq S. Nishat , Md. Rafiqul Islam , Patrick E. Hopkins , Daniel Gall
{"title":"Mechanical properties of compositionally modulated epitaxial VN(001)/VC(001) films","authors":"Moishe Y.E. Azoff-Slifstein , Anshuman Thakral , Sadiq S. Nishat , Md. Rafiqul Islam , Patrick E. Hopkins , Daniel Gall","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121135","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121135","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Epitaxial 1.5-μm-thick VN(001) and VC(001) films are deposited on MgO(001) by reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar/N<sub>2</sub> and Ar/CH<sub>4</sub> gas mixtures at <em>T<sub>s</sub></em> = 1000 °C, respectively. Cyclic switching between the Ar/N<sub>2</sub> and Ar/CH<sub>4</sub> gas yields compositionally modulated vanadium nitride/carbide films which exhibit a single-crystal epitaxial rock-salt structure matrix but also contain misoriented grains resulting in strongly facetted triangular 375–500 nm wide surface protrusions. The gas switching is adjusted to obtain films containing nominally identical amounts of VN and VC and various modulation periods Λ = 1.9 - 30 nm. They exhibit a stoichiometric anion-to-cation ratio but contain more carbon than nitrogen, suggesting that surface carbon reduces the N<sub>2</sub> sticking coefficient and the nitrogen incorporation rate. X-ray diffraction <em>θ</em>-2<em>θ</em> scans and reciprocal space maps indicate an in-plane compressive strain that decreases from -0.4 % to -0.1 % with increasing Λ, and a slightly decreasing relaxed lattice constant <em>a</em><sub>o</sub> = 4.160 - 4.155 Å. Hardness and elastic moduli measured by nanoindentation are <em>H</em><sub>VN</sub> = 5.1 GPa and <em>E</em><sub>VN</sub> = 226 GPa for VN(001), and <em>H</em><sub>VC</sub> = 19.4 GPa and <em>E</em><sub>VC</sub> = 323 GPa for VC(001). The hardness decreases from <em>H</em> = 16.4 – 11.1 GPa with increasing Λ = 1.9 - 30 nm, while the measured <em>E</em> = 260 ± 20 GPa is independent of Λ. Both <em>H</em> and <em>E</em> values are close to the theoretical isostress rule of mixtures (ROM) prediction, revealing that the modulated VN/VC films exhibit no hardness enhancement. This suggests that neither nitrogen-carbon intermixing nor composition modulation results in dislocation pinning during mechanical deformation. This is attributed to the relatively small 0.8 % VN/VC lattice mismatch which results in negligible local strain variations or coherency strains.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121135"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143940141","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":"Practicing pseudo-binary diffusion couple method in ternary and multicomponent systems","authors":"Suman Sadhu , Anuj Dash , Neelamegan Esakkiraja , Ujjval Bansal , Avik Mondal , Anindita Chakraborty , Monojit Dutta , Raju Ravi , Surendra Makineni , Saswata Bhattacharyya , Sergiy Divinski , Aloke Paul","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121127","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121127","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Solving the unresolved problem, the pseudo-binary (or quasi-binary or iso-concentration) diffusion couple method has emerged as an elegant and most frequently used research tool for diffusion analysis in multicomponent systems. This is practiced even in a ternary system for the systematic generation of composition-dependent diffusion coefficients, which is otherwise impossible following conventional methods. However, the analysis for the deviations from an “ideal pseudo-binary diffusion profile” is not standardized yet, leading to confusion in the acceptability of the estimated diffusion coefficients. This study explains the logic behind establishing an augmented Darken and Darken-Manning equation schemes suitable for pseudo-binary diffusion profiles considering experimentally produced diffusion profiles and extracted activity profiles of elements. The correct estimation method is demonstrated by producing pseudo-binary profiles up to a six-element system for the first time, depending on the ideal or non-ideal nature of the diffusion profiles. A re-adjustment factor (RAF) concept is introduced, reflecting on the effect of the non-ideality range on estimated diffusion coefficients. This is demonstrated based on several diffusion couple experiments in multiple systems of technological importance that produce different ranges of ideal, near-ideal, minor, and major non-ideal pseudo-binary diffusion profiles. RAF values provide an ultimate guideline for pseudo-binary diffusion analysis in multicomponent systems depending on the extent of non-ideality and composition range of the main diffusing elements. Additionally, the importance of estimating the tracer and intrinsic diffusion coefficients instead of only interdiffusion coefficients (reported mostly) is substantiated by estimating all types of diffusion coefficients when relevant.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121127"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143933323","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}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-05-11DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121133
Konrad Wilczyński, Arkadiusz P. Gertych, Mariusz Zdrojek
{"title":"Phonon anharmonicity and thermal expansion in two-dimensional graphene/MoS2 and graphene/WS2 heterostructures: DFT and Raman study","authors":"Konrad Wilczyński, Arkadiusz P. Gertych, Mariusz Zdrojek","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121133","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121133","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Anharmonicity is a crucial feature of solid-state systems, affecting phenomena such as thermal expansion and temperature-dependent heat conductivity. Here, phonon anharmonicity in monolayer MoS<sub>2</sub>, WS<sub>2</sub>, and their heterostructures with graphene is comprehensively investigated, using ab-initio calculations and Raman spectroscopy. The presented theoretical approach yields exceptionally accurate predictions of temperature-dependent phonon frequencies in these systems. It is demonstrated that the friction regime between monolayers strongly affects thermal expansion in heterostructures – resulting in a tenfold difference in-plane expansion coefficients. Furthermore, significant impact of four-phonon processes is unveiled, contributing to approximately 1/3 of temperature-dependent frequency slopes (d<em>ω</em>/d<em>T</em>) in MoS<sub>2</sub> and WS<sub>2</sub> monolayers, although this factor has been commonly ignored in state-of-the-art theoretical works. This effect changes noticeably if a graphene cap layer is present, which, combined with the evolved thermal expansion, can flatten the d<em>ω</em>/d<em>T</em> slopes by 20 %. Our work introduces a novel approach to calculating phonon anharmonicity in complex, multi-layered two-dimensional structures, which might also support determining their macroscopic thermal properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"294 ","pages":"Article 121133"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143933322","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}
Acta MaterialiaPub Date : 2025-05-10DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121088
Neelamegan Esakkiraja , Jasper Berndt , Stephan Klemme , Gerhard Wilde , Aloke Paul , Sergiy V. Divinski
{"title":"Combined measurements of composition-dependent tracer-, impurity- and intrinsic diffusion coefficients and atomic correlation factors from a binary diffusion couple","authors":"Neelamegan Esakkiraja , Jasper Berndt , Stephan Klemme , Gerhard Wilde , Aloke Paul , Sergiy V. Divinski","doi":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121088","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.actamat.2025.121088","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A fundamental understanding of atomic diffusion is crucial for technological advances in the application of multi-component alloys. The augmented tracer-interdiffusion couple approach provides the composition-dependent tracer diffusion coefficients (mobilities) along the whole diffusion path. This study introduces a novel methodology for accessing the vacancy flux calculations in a diffusion couple, substantiating a rich variety of the diffusion parameters accessible by a single diffusion couple experiment aside of the interdiffusion coefficients. We demonstrate that the composition-dependent thermodynamic factors and Manning’s factors can be estimated using this approach. Furthermore, the composition-dependent correlation factors of the diffusing elements in a diffusion couple are estimated for the first time. A modified tracer-interdiffusion couple approach is applied to estimate the composition-dependent impurity diffusion coefficients by placing suitable radiotracers at the Matano plane. The Onsager coefficients are estimated for the whole concentration range under investigation. Under the vacancy flux in the Ni–Fe diffusion couple, Cr, Co, and Mn atoms are biased towards the Ni-rich side, though the vacancy flux-driven drift of the Mn atoms is most pronounced.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":238,"journal":{"name":"Acta Materialia","volume":"293 ","pages":"Article 121088"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143931131","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}