Detecting grain rotation at the nanoscale

作者：Chen Bin^*; Lutker Katie; Lei Jialin; Yan Jinyuan; Yang Shizhong; Mao Ho kwang

来源：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014, 111(9): 3350-3353.

DOI：10.1073/pnas.1324184111

It is well-believed that below a certain particle size, grain boundary-mediated plastic deformation (e. g., grain rotation, grain boundary sliding and diffusion) substitutes for conventional dislocation nucleation and motion as the dominant deformation mechanism. However, in situ probing of grain boundary processes of ultrafine nanocrystals during plastic deformation has not been feasible, precluding the direct exploration of the nanomechanics. Here we present the in situ texturing observation of bulk-sized platinum in a nickel pressure medium of various particle sizes from 500 nm down to 3 nm. Surprisingly, the texture strength of the same-sized platinum drops rapidly with decreasing grain size of the nickel medium, indicating that more active grain rotation occurs in the smaller nickel nanocrystals. Insight into these processes provides a better understanding of the plastic deformation of nanomaterials in a few-nanometer length scale.

• 出版日期2014-3-4