A nanodispersion-in-nanograins strategy for ultra-strong, ductile and stable metal nanocomposites

Zan Li, Yin Zhang, Zhibo Zhang, Yi-Tao Cui, Qiang Guo, Pan Liu, Shenbao Jin, Gang Sha, Kunqing Ding, Zhiqiang Li, Tongxiang Fan, Herbert M. Urbassek, Qian Yu, Ting Zhu (), Di Zhang () and Y. Morris Wang ()
Additional contact information
Zan Li: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Yin Zhang: Georgia Institute of Technology
Zhibo Zhang: Institute of New Materials and Processing, Guangdong Academy of Sciences
Yi-Tao Cui: The University of Tokyo
Qiang Guo: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Pan Liu: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shenbao Jin: Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Gang Sha: Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Kunqing Ding: Georgia Institute of Technology
Zhiqiang Li: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Tongxiang Fan: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Herbert M. Urbassek: University Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Straße
Qian Yu: Zhejiang University
Ting Zhu: Georgia Institute of Technology
Di Zhang: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Y. Morris Wang: University of California

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Nanograined metals have the merit of high strength, but usually suffer from low work hardening capacity and poor thermal stability, causing premature failure and limiting their practical utilities. Here we report a “nanodispersion-in-nanograins” strategy to simultaneously strengthen and stabilize nanocrystalline metals such as copper and nickel. Our strategy relies on a uniform dispersion of extremely fine sized carbon nanoparticles (2.6 ± 1.2 nm) inside nanograins. The intragranular dispersion of nanoparticles not only elevates the strength of already-strong nanograins by 35%, but also activates multiple hardening mechanisms via dislocation-nanoparticle interactions, leading to improved work hardening and large tensile ductility. In addition, these finely dispersed nanoparticles result in substantially enhanced thermal stability and electrical conductivity in metal nanocomposites. Our results demonstrate the concurrent improvement of several mutually exclusive properties in metals including strength-ductility, strength-thermal stability, and strength-electrical conductivity, and thus represent a promising route to engineering high-performance nanostructured materials.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33261-5

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