Grain Boundary

Magnesium diboride (MgB2) is a low-cost, non-toxic superconductor used in field magnets, electric motors, and generators. However, producing nanoscale boron (B) particles to fabricate MgB2 is expensive. Researchers recently tackled this issue by using high-energy ultra-sonication in 2-propanol, a highly viscous solvent, to produce impurity-free, nm-sized B particles. The approach is cost-effective and enables…

The authors develop a new oxide-dispersion-strengthened NiCoCr-based alloy using a model-driven alloy design approach and laser-based additive manufacturing, showing how such designs can provide superior compositions using far fewer resources than previous methods.

Publishing in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing , researchers from Harbin Institute of Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Guizhou University and Ruhr-University Bochum present a brief review on the application of numerical simulations in addressing the impact of properties and microstructures of workpiece materials on the diamond cutting mechanisms of different types of…

From superfast magnetic levitation trains and computer chips to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines and particle accelerators, superconductors are electrifying various aspects of our life. Superconductivity is an interesting property that allows materials to transfer moving charges without any resistance, below a certain critical point. This implies that superconducting materials can transfer electrical…

Lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and many other devices depend on the high mobility of ions in order to work properly. But there a large number of obstacles to such mobility. Researchers have now shown that light can be used to increase the mobility of ions and improve the performance of such devices.

Engineers have demonstrated for the first time how light can be used to significantly improve the performance of fuel cells, lithium batteries, and other devices that are based on the movement of charged atoms, or ions.

Key structural metals inside proposed fusion reactors can fail in just a few months. MIT engineers have demonstrated that adding nanoparticles of certain ceramics to the metals can protect them from damage and significantly extend their lifetime.

Researchers from the Department of Energy's Critical Materials Institute (CMI) and Ames National Laboratory have improved the properties of a rare-earth-free permanent magnet material and demonstrated the process can be upscaled for manufacturing. The researchers developed a new method of manufacturing manganese bismuth (MnBi) magnets based on microstructure engineering. This process is a step towards making…

Single crystals are materials in which the crystal lattice is continuous and unbroken to the edges of the sample, with no grain boundaries. The atoms occupy regular positions, which are repeated indefinitely in space. While polycrystals are made up of many crystal grains or crystallites of varying sizes and orientations, monocrystals consist of a single grain.

To date, ceramic scientists have devised various strategies to impede grain coarsening. The utilization of nano-sized precursor powder can not only facilitate the densification process, but also yields bulk ceramics with reduced grain sizes compared with micron-sized precursor powder.

Titanium (Ti), often hailed as the wonder metal for its remarkable properties, has many applications in aerospace, marine, and biomedicine industries. Known for their low density, high strength, high ductility, great corrosion resistance, and excellent biocompatibility, Ti and its alloys have been widely studied by numerous researchers for their structural deformation mechanisms at room temperatures.

α-FAPbI3, a promising solar cell material with a cubic perovskite structure that is metastable at room temperature, can be stabilized by introducing a pseudo-halide ion like thiocyanate (SCN–) into its structure, as demonstrated by Tokyo Tech researchers in a new study. Their finding provides new insights into the stabilization of the α-phase via grain boundary and pseudo-halide engineering.

A new treatment tested on a high-quality steel alloy results in remarkable strength and flexibility, qualities often seen as a trade-off rather than a combination. Ultra-fine metal grains that the treatment produced in the outermost layer of steel appear to stretch, rotate and then elongate under st

Most crystalline materials are polycrystals, such as metals. They are composed of many small crystalline grains with different lattice orientations. The interface between two crystalline grains, i.e., the grain boundary, is a thin layer of disordered particles about one or two particles thick.

The orientations of these infinitesimally small separations between individual "grains" of a polycrystalline material have big effects. In a material such as aluminum, these collections of grains (called microstructures) determine properties such as hardness.

MIT engineers fabricated 2D materials that could lead to next-generation transistors and electronic films.

A fusion reactor contains some of the most intense conditions in the known universe, and making materials to withstand those conditions isn't easy.

A new way to detect radiation involving cheap ceramics could lead to plethora of new applications, including better detectors for nuclear materials at ports.

Late last year, Caltech researchers revealed that they had developed a new fabrication technique for printing microsized metal parts containing features about as thick as three or four sheets of paper.

In collaboration with the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IPCAS), researchers from Beijing University of Technology (BJUT) have discovered a new type of grain-interior planar defect in a ceramic phase in TiC doped cemented tungsten carbides.