A method based on the Gibbs' adsorption isotherm is developed to calculate the decrease in interfacial free energy resulting from solute segregation at an internal interface, built on measured concentration profiles. Utilizing atom-probe tomography (APT), we first measure a concentration profile of the relative interfacial excess of solute atoms across an interface. To accomplish this we utilize a new method based on J. W. Cahn's formalism for the calculation of the Gibbs interfacial excess. We also introduce a method to calculate the decrease in interfacial free energy that is caused by the segregating solute atoms. This method yields a discrete profile of the decrease in interfacial free energies, which takes into account the measured concentration profile and calculated Gibbsian excess profile. We demonstrate that this method can be used for both homo- and hetero-phase interfaces and takes into account the actual distribution of solute atoms across an interface as determined by APT. It is applied to the case of the semiconducting system PbTe-PbS 12 mol.%-Na 1 mol.%, where Na segregation at the PbS/PbTe interface is anticipated to reduce the interfacial free energy of the {100} facets. We also consider the case of the nickel-based Alloy 600, where B and Si segregation are suspected to impede inter-granular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) at homo- (GB) and hetero-phase metal carbide (M7C3) interfaces. The concentration profiles associated with internal interfaces are measured by APT using an ultraviolet (wavelength = 355 nm) laser to dissect nanotips on an atom-by-atom and atomic plane-by-plane basis.
We characterise the influence of the segregation behaviours of two typical alloying elements, aluminium and nickel, on the interfacial cohesive properties of copper-rich precipitates in ferritic steels, with a view towards understanding steel embrittlement. The first-principles method is used to compute the energetic and bonding properties of aluminium and nickel at the interfaces of the precipitates and corresponding fracture surfaces. Our results show the segregation of aluminium and nickel at interfaces of precipitates are both energetically favourable. We find that the interfacial cohesion…
Interfacial segregation and chemical short-range ordering influence the behavior of grain boundaries in complex concentrated alloys. In this study, we use atomistic modeling of a NbMoTaW refractory complex concentrated alloy to provide insight into the interplay between these two phenomena. Hybrid Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations are performed on columnar grain models to identify equilibrium grain boundary structures. Our results reveal extended near-boundary segregation zones that are much larger than traditional segregation regions, which also exhibit chemical patterning that b…
Grain boundary engineering via dopant segregation can dramatically change the properties of a material. For metallic systems, most current studies concerning interfacial segregation and subsequent transitions of grain boundary structure are limited to binary alloys, yet many important alloy systems contain more than one type of dopant. In this work, hybrid Monte Carlo/molecular dynamics simulations are performed to investigate the behavior of dopants at interfaces in two model ternary alloy systems: Cu-Zr-Ag and Al-Zr-Cu. Trends in boundary segregation are studied, as well as the propensity fo…
Microalloying elements tend to segregate to the matrix-precipitate phase boundaries to reduce the interfacial energy. The segregation mechanism is emerging as a novel design strategy for developing precipitation-hardened alloys with significantly improved coarsening resistance for high temperature applications. In this paper, we report a nanoscopic diffuse-interface thermodynamic model that describes multicomponent segregation behavior in two-phase substitutional alloys. Following classical approaches for grain boundaries, we employ the regular solution thermodynamics to establish segregation …
Refractory multi-principal element alloys exhibiting promising mechanical properties such as excellent strength retention at elevated temperatures have been attracting increasing attention. Although their inherent chemical complexity is considered a defining feature, a challenge arises in predicting local chemical ordering, particularly in grain boundary regions with enhanced structural disorder. In this study, we use atomistic simulations of a large group of bicrystal models to sample a wide variety of interfacial sites (grain boundary) in NbMoTaW and explore emergent trends in interfacial se…
Interfacial segregation can stabilize grain structures and even lead to grain boundary complexion transitions. However, understanding of the complexity of such phenomena in polycrystalline materials is limited, as most studies focus on bicrystal geometries. In this work, we investigate interfacial segregation and subsequent complexion transitions in polycrystalline Cu-Zr alloys using hybrid Monte Carlo/molecular dynamics simulations. No significant change in the grain size or structure is observed upon Zr dopant addition to a pure Cu polycrystal at moderate temperature, where grain boundary se…
Chemical segregation and structural transitions at interfaces are important nanoscale phenomena, making them natural targets for atomistic modeling, yet interatomic potentials must be fit to secondary physical properties. To isolate the important factors that interatomic potentials must capture in order to accurately model such behavior, the performance of four interatomic potentials was evaluated for the Cu-Zr system, with experimental observations used to provide validation. While experimental results show strong Zr segregation to grain boundary regions and the formation of nanoscale amorpho…
Solute decoration at grain boundaries (GB) leads to a number of phenomenon such as changes in interface structure,mobility,cohesion etc.Recent experimental investigations on interfacial segregation in steels are based on microstructural characterisation using two correlative methodologies, namely,Transmission Electron Microscopy-Atom Probe Tomography (APT) and Electron Backscatter Diffraction-APT.Considering the growing interest in this avenue,the present review is aimed at addressing the common adsorption isotherms used for quantifying interfacial segregation and providing an overview of the …
A detailed study has been carried out on $γ^\prime$ (AlAg$_2$) precipitates in Al-Ag and Al-Ag-Cu alloys to reconcile the conflicting reports on chemical ordering and stacking faults in this phase. High angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy and convergent beam electron diffraction show no indication of chemical ordering on alternate basal planes of $γ^\prime$ precipitates in alloys aged at 473 K for 2-23 h. Precipitates were visible as Ag-rich regions with 1-13 fcc$\rightarrow$hcp stacking faults, corresponding to $γ^\prime$ platelets with thicknesses ranging from …
Solute segregation at twin boundaries in Mg has been widely investigated, yet this phenomenon has not been studied at the equally important basal-prismatic interfaces. To fill this critical gap, this work investigates the segregation behavior of Y at basal-prismatic interfaces with various structures using atomistic simulations. The calculated interfacial energies show that short coherent interfaces and long semi-coherent interfaces containing disconnections and dislocations are more energetically stable than disordered interfaces, which is supported by our experimental observations. The segre…
Interfacial nucleation is the dominant process of dislocation generation during the plastic deformation of nano-crystalline materials. Solute additions intended to stabilize nano-crystalline metals against grain growth, may segregate to the grain boundaries and triple junctions where they can affect the process of the dislocation emission. In this Letter we demonstrate that the effect of solute addition in a nano-crystalline material containing competing solute segregation sites and dislocation sources can be very complex due to different rates of segregation at different interfaces. Moreover,…
Cr-segregation to a lamellar interface in NbSi2/MoSi2 duplex silicide has been examined by a newly developed phase-field model. The model can take into account the segregation energy evaluated by a first principles calculation to reflect the chemical interaction between solute atoms and the interface in addition to the elastic interaction. Cr segregation occurs at the interface in the case with segregation energy whereas no segregation occurs in the case with only elastic interaction. However, the segregation is much smaller than that observed in the experiment when the segregation energy was …
Atomistic simulations are used to study segregation-induced intergranular film formation in Cu-Zr and Cu-Nb alloys. While Cu-Zr forms structurally disordered or amorphous films, ordered films comprised of a second phase usually precipitate in Cu-Nb, with a critical nucleation size of ~1 nm below which the ordered phase cannot form. While the ordered film is retained at high temperature for a low energy Σ11 (113) boundary, a disordering transition is observed for a high energy Σ5 (310) boundary at low dopant concentrations. Finally, the effect of free surfaces on dopant segregation and intergra…
θ' (Al2Cu) precipitates in Al-Cu-Ag alloys were examined using high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The precipitates nucleated on dislocation loops on which assemblies of γ' (AlAg2) precipitates were present. These dislocation loops were enriched in silver prior to θ' precipitation. Coherent, planar interfaces between the aluminium matrix and θ' precipitates were decorated by a layer of silver of two atomic layers in thickness. It is proposed that this layer lowers the chemical component of the Al-θ' interfacial energy. The lateral growth of the…
A number of experimental and theoretical findings in age hardening alloys suggest that specific solute elements preferentially segregate to and reduce the energy of the interphase boundary (IB). This segregation mechanism can stabilize the precipitation microstructure against coarsening, allowing higher operating temperatures in structural applications. Herein, we present a phase field model of solute segregation to IBs that separate matrix and precipitate phases in binary alloys. The proposed modeling framework is capable of capturing bulk thermodynamics and interfacial free energies, while a…
Fabrication of ordered structures at the nanoscale limit poses a cornerstone challenge for modern technologies. In this work we show how naturally occurring moiré patterns in Ir(111)-supported graphene template the formation of 2D ordered arrays of substitutional boron species. A complementary experimental and theoretical approach provides a comprehensive description of the boron species distribution, bonding configurations, interfacial interaction with Ir(111) and the impact on graphene's electronic structure. Atomically-resolved scanning tunnelling microscopy images and density functional th…
The interfacial structure of a silicon grain boundary (Si-GB) plays a decisive role on its chemical functionalization and has implications in diverse physical-chemical properties of the material. Therefore, GB interface is particularly relevant when the material is employed in high performance technological applications. Here, we studied from first principles the role of GB interface by providing an atomistic understanding of two different $Σ$3\{112\} Si-GB models. These models are (1$\times$1) and (1$\times$2) $Σ$3\{112\} Si-GBs which lead to different structural reconstruction. Starting from…
Complexions are phase-like interfacial features that can influence a wide variety of properties, but the ability to predict which material systems can sustain these features remains limited. Amorphous complexions are of particular interest due to their ability to enhance diffusion and damage tolerance mechanisms, as a result of the excess free volume present in these structures. In this paper, we propose a set of materials selection rules aimed at predicting the formation of amorphous complexions, with an emphasis on (1) encouraging the segregation of dopants to the interfaces and (2) lowering…
Modulation of structural short-range order due to chemical patterning in multi-component amorphous interfacial complexions
University of California, Irvine（加州大学尔湾分校）；Johns Hopkins University（约翰斯·霍普金斯大学）；Irvine Materials Research Institute, University of California, Irvine（加州大学尔湾分校欧文材料研究所）
Solidification structures are determined by the interaction between the interfacial processes and transport processes of heat and solute. In this paper, we investigate planar instability in directional solidification. Firstly, the interfacial evolution at the initial growth stage is simulated, indicating the planar instability is represented by the transition from the planar to the cellular. Secondly, to represent the history-dependence of solidification, constant thermal gradient G and varying pulling speed VP are used in the simulations. The results indicate the cooling rate R ( = G*VP) domi…
We study AB$_n$ miktoarm star block copolymers in the strong segregation limit, focussing on the role that the AB interface plays in determining the phase behavior. We develop an extension of the kinked-path approach which allows us to explore the energetic dependence on interfacial shape. We consider a one-parameter family of interfaces to study the columnar to lamellar transition in asymmetric stars. We compare with recent experimental results. We discuss the stability of the A15 lattice of sphere-like micelles in the context of interfacial energy minimization. We corroborate our theory by i…
Existing theoretical models of the interfacial thermal conductance, i.e., Kapitza conductance, of insulating solid-fluid interfaces only consider bulk properties, e.g., acoustic mismatch model and diffuse mismatch model. In this work, we propose a classical lattice dynamical model calculation of the Kapitza conductance, thereby incorporating interfacial structural details. In our model, we assume that heat is mostly carried by phonons in the solid, and that sound waves carry diffusive heat from the interface into the bulk of the liquid, where both longitudinal and transverse sound waves are co…
Faceted grain boundaries exhibit unusual segregation and migration tendencies. To gain a deeper understanding of how solute atoms interact with faceted interfacial structures during migration, this study probes the migration behavior of a faceted $Σ$11 boundary in Cu doped with Ag atoms. The solutes are found to segregate to the facet with more free volume and strongly reduce boundary velocity in one migration direction, but not the other, due to the presence of a directionally-dependent motion mechanism that can escape solute pinning and therefore speed up migration. Hence, a new mechanism of…
Using density functional theory calculations, we have found an enhanced magneto-optical Kerr effect in Fe/insulator interfaces. The results of our study indicate that interfacial Fe atoms in the Fe films have a low-dimensional nature, which causes the following two effects: (i) The diagonal component $σ_{xx}$ of the optical conductivity decreases dramatically because the hopping integral for electrons between Fe atoms is suppressed by the low dimensionality. (ii) The off-diagonal component $σ_{xy}$ of the optical conductivity does not change at low photon energies, but it is enhanced at photon…
