An equiatomic FeCoCrNi high-entropy alloy with a face-centered cubic structure was fabricated by a powder metallurgy route, and then processed by high-pressure torsion. Detailed microscopy investigations revealed that grain refinement from coarse grains to nanocrystalline grains occurred mainly via concurrent nanoband (NB) subdivision and deformation twinning. NB-NB, twin-NB and twin-twin inter...

Nanotwins can improve mechanical strength and maintain high electrical conductivity in metallic nanowires. We demonstrated a method of pulsed-laser-assisted electrodeposition, which could form dense nanotwins with tunable directions in copper nanowires of uniform sizes. Transmission electron microscopy characterization showed with a growth potential of -0:2 V, nanotwins tend to align along the ...

The roles of grain boundaries and twin boundaries in mechanical properties are well understood for metals and alloys. However, for covalent solids, their roles in deformation response to applied stress are not established. Here we characterize the nanotwins in boron suboxide (B6O) with twin boundaries along the {0111} planes using both scanning transmission electron microscopy and quantum mecha...

Nanotwins in nanocrystalline Mg–Alalloys: an insight from high-resolutionTEM and molecular dynamics simulation Report Title Twinning in hexagonal close-packed Mg alloys has been reported to be unfavorable when the grain size is reduced below a couple of microns and suppressed at the nanoscale. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we present evidence of nanotwins (<1 nm) in na...

We perform the atomistic Monte Carlo simulations of formation of nanostructured martensites in nickel–titanium thin films. The results reveal the atomistically resolved patterning of martensitic nanotwins, including coarsening, branching and twinning within twins, as mediated by temperature and substrate constraints. A scaling law is derived to elucidate the physical effects governing the chara...

Silicon-based microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors have become ubiquitous in consumer-based products, but realization of an interconnected network of MEMS devices that allows components to be remotely monitored and controlled, a concept often described as the "Internet of Things," will require a suite of MEMS materials and properties that are not currently available. We report on the s...

Densely nanotwinned Cu nanowire (NW) arrays with an identical diameter of ∼55 nm were fabricated by pulse electrochemical deposition at low temperature using anodic aluminum oxide as a template. Different growth orientations of nanotwinned Cu nanowire arrays were investigated. The endurance of the electrical current density before breakdown of the nanotwinned Cu NWs can reach up to 2.4 × 10(8) ...

CNTs reinforced metal composites has great potential due to their superior properties, such as light weight, high strength, low thermal expansion and high thermal conductivity. The current strengthening mechanisms of CNT/metal composite mainly rely on CNTs' interaction with dislocations and CNT's intrinsic high strength. Here we demonstrated that laser shock loading the CNT/metal composite resu...

Nanoscratching-induced deformation in monocrystaline silicon is found to depend on the loading conditions. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that amorphous phase transformation and nanotwins are the two major mechanisms. At a relatively low scratching depth, amorphous transformation occurs on the surface; however, when the scratching depth is greater than 1 nm, nanotwinning also emerges in ...