Multicomponent intermetallic nanoparticles and superb mechanical behaviors of complex alloys

Alloy design based on single–principal-element systems has approached its limit for performance enhancements. A substantial increase in strength up to gigapascal levels typically causes the premature failure of materials with reduced ductility. Here, we report a strategy to break this trade-off by controllably introducing high-density ductile multicomponent intermetallic nanoparticles (MCINPs) in complex alloy systems. Distinct from the intermetallic-induced embrittlement under conventional wisdom, such MCINP-strengthened alloys exhibit superior strengths of 1.5 gigapascals and ductility as high as 50% in tension at ambient temperature. The plastic instability, a major concern for high-strength materials, can be completely eliminated by generating a distinctive multistage work-hardening behavior, resulting from pronounced dislocation activities and deformation-induced microbands. This MCINP strategy offers a paradigm to develop next-generation materials for structural applications.

Source: ScienceNOW - November 22, 2018 Category: Science Authors: Yang, T., Zhao, Y. L., Tong, Y., Jiao, Z. B., Wei, J., Cai, J. X., Han, X. D., Chen, D., Hu, A., Kai, J. J., Lu, K., Liu, Y., Liu, C. T. Tags: Materials Science reports Source Type: news