Unraveling the origin of extra strengthening in gradient nanotwinned metals

Materials containing heterogeneous nanostructures hold great promise for achieving superior mechanical properties. However, the strengthening effect due to plastically inhomogeneous deformation in heterogeneous nanostructures has not been clearly understood. Here, we investigate a prototypical heterogeneous nanostructured material of gradient nanotwinned (GNT) Cu to unravel the origin of its extra strength arising from gradient nanotwin structures relative to uniform nanotwin counterparts. We measure the back and effective stresses of GNT Cu with different nanotwin thickness gradients and compare them with those of homogeneous nanotwinned Cu with different uniform nanotwin thicknesses. We find that the extra strength of GNT Cu is caused predominantly by the extra back stress resulting from nanotwin thickness gradient, while the effective stress is almost independent of the gradient structures. The combined experiment and strain gradient plasticity modeling show that an increasing structural gradient in GNT Cu produces an increasing plastic strain gradient, thereby raising the extra back stress. The plastic strain gradient is accommodated by the accumulation of geometrically necessary dislocations inside an unusual type of heterogeneous dislocation structure in the form of bundles of concentrated dislocations. Such a heterogeneous dislocation structure produces microscale internal stresses leading to the extra back stress in GNT Cu. Altogether, this work establishes a fundamental connection between the gradient structure and extra strength in GNT Cu through the mechanistic linkages of plastic strain gradient, heterogeneous dislocation structure, microscale internal stress, and extra back stress. Broadly, this work exemplifies a general approach to unraveling the strengthening mechanisms in heterogeneous nanostructured materials.

Physics of Nanostructure Design for Infrared Detectors

Infrared detectors and focal plane array technologies are becoming ubiquitous in military, but are limited in the commercial sectors. The widespread commercial use of this technology is lacking because of the high cost and large size, weight and power. Most of these detectors require cryogenic cooling to minimize thermally generated dark currents, causing the size, weight, power and cost to increase significantly. Approaches using very thin detector design can minimize thermally generated dark current, but at a cost of lower absorption efficiency. There are emerging technologies in nanostructured material designs such as metasurfaces that can allow for increased photon absorption in a thin detector architecture. Ultra-thin and low-dimensional absorber materials may also provide unique engineering opportunities in detector design. This chapter discusses the physics and opportunities to increase the operating temperature using such techniques.

Reuse of organic waste from Eucalyptus globulus extract with high reducing potential in the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles

The research provides a new and sustainable methodology for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles, using Eucalyptus globulus extract, this due to the fact that it presents metabolites capable of acting as a reducing potential of our silver nitrate precursor, and thus obtaining nanostructured material. This is also associated with the reuse of this type of organic material, which currently abounds as waste in the Peruvian highlands. In the specific case of this research, the effect on the stability over time of the biosynthesized silver nanoparticles was evaluated by varying the pH, with values of 4.82, 8.05 and 10.15. It was observed that as the pH increases the production of nanoparticles is higher, having a saturation threshold close to pH 8. It was also found that for alkaline pH close to 10 a more complete reaction of the reducing agent occurs, but with a high dispersion.

Ecological and sustainable synthesis of silver nanoparticles from alcoholic extract of Eucalyptus globulus: Evaluation of alcoholic solvent influence (70° and 96°)

The present study provides an ecological and sustainable methodology for obtaining nanostructured material from Eucalyptus globulus leaf extract, as a potential value-added alternative and a contribution to circular economy. Silver nanoparticles (NP Ag) were synthesized, through the reducing action of the alcoholic extracts of eucalyptus on the precursor silver nitrate (AgNO3) evaluating the influence of alcoholic solvent (70 ° and 96 °) and pH in the synthesis. The silver colloids obtained were evaluated by UV-vis spectrophotometry, which shows the formation of nanoparticles through the plasmon resonance peak; showing that for pH values 9.9 and 10 with alcohol extract of 70 ° and 96 ° respectively, silver nanoparticles with plasmon resonance peaks at 410 nm and 412.5 nm are obtained. While for pH values 3.86, 11.8 (96°) and 4.7, 8.2 (70°) nanoparticles with higher polydispersity and in a lower proportion are obtained. The results suggest that the alcoholic extracts of eucalyptus can act as reducing agents and that the optimum pH value for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles corresponds to 10.

Effect of Ce Content on Properties of Al-Ce-Based Composites by Powder-in-Tube Method

Al-Ce based alloys have gained recent interest and have proven to have excellent strength without heat treatment and high thermal stability. Challenges with the production of Al-Ce samples from elemental powders arise due to the elemental material before alloying being susceptible to rapid oxidation. The methodology for making superconductive wire, powder-in-tube, was used as a consolidate Al and Ce elemental powder, and Al-8 wt % Ce-10 wt % Mg composite powder into bulk nanostructured material. Powder samples are fabricated in an inert controlled atmosphere, then sealed in a tube to avoid oxidation of powders. Therefore, most of the powder is used without much loss. We used 316 stainless-steel tubes as a sheathing material. For Al-xCe wt % (x = 8 to 14) samples of elemental powder, liquid phase sintering was used and for Al-Ce-Mg powder solid-state sintering. Characterization of the bulk consolidated material after sintering, and before and after heat treatment, was made using optical and Scanning Electron Microscope imaging, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, Microhardness and Rockwell Hardness test. We demonstrated that microstructure stability in Al-Ce-based specimens can be retained after thermomechanical processing. Densification was achieved and oxidation of powder was avoided in most samples. In addition, we found that Fe and Ni in the sheathing material react with Al in the process, and Ce concentration modifies the reactivity the sheath.

Stable Fluorescence of Eu3+ Complex Nanostructures Beneath a Protein Skin for Potential Biometric Recognition

We designed and realized highly fluorescent nanostructures composed of Eu3+ complexes under a protein coating. The nanostructured material, confirmed by photo-induced force microscopy (PiFM), includes a bottom fluorescent layer and an upper protein layer. The bottom fluorescent layer includes Eu3+ that is coordinated by 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen) and oleic acid (O). The complete complexes (OEu3+Phen) formed higher-order structures with diameter 40–150 nm. Distinctive nanoscale striations reminiscent of fingerprints were observed with a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). Stable fluorescence was increased by the addition of Eu3+ coordinated by Phen and 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA), and confirmed by fluorescence spectroscopy. A satisfactory result was the observation of red Eu3+ complex emission through a protein coating layer with a fluorescence microscope. Lanthanide nanostructures of these types might ultimately prove useful for biometric applications in the context of human and non-human tissues. The significant innovations of this work include: (1) the structural set-up of the fluorescence image embedded under protein “skin”; and (2) dual confirmations of nanotopography and unique nanofingerprints under PiFM and under TEM, respectively.

Gradient Enhanced Strain Hardening and Tensile Deformability in a Gradient-Nanostructured Ni Alloy

Gradient-nanostructured material is an emerging category of material with spatial gradients in microstructural features. The incompatibility between gradient nanostructures (GNS) in the surface layer and coarse-grained (CG) core and their roles in extra strengthening and strain hardening have been well elucidated. Nevertheless, whether similar mechanisms exist within the GNS is not clear yet. Here, interactions between nanostructured layers constituting the GNS in a Ni alloy processed by surface mechanical rolling treatment were investigated by performing unique microtension tests on the whole GNS and three subdivided nanostructured layers at specific depths, respectively. The isolated nanograined layer at the topmost surface shows the highest strength but a brittle nature. With increasing depths, isolated layers exhibit lower strength but enhanced tensile plasticity. The GNS sample’s behavior complied more with the soft isolated layer at the inner side of GNS. Furthermore, an extra strain hardening was found in the GNS sample, leading to a greater uniform elongation (>3%) as compared to all of three constituent nanostructured layers. This extra strain hardening could be ascribed to the effects of the strain gradients arising from the incompatibility associated with the depth-dependent mechanical performance of various nanostructured layers.

Modification of cast alloys nanostructured material

The third article of the series devoted to the application of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies in industry in general and, first of all, in metallurgy, materials science and foundry is presented. This article deals with the use of nanomaterials for the improvement of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys by micro-alloying and modifying methods, as well as the synthesis of new composite materials. The results of research on C-B-Fe composites obtained at the Belarusian State Technological University, a method for modifying gray cast iron with micro-additives of abrasive slurries of high-speed steels, proposed by specialists of BNTU and OJSC «MTW», and aluminum alloys modified with nanostructured carbideand nitride-containing powders developed by Belarusian, Bulgarian and Russian scientists are presented.