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Title: Unstable twin in body-centered cubic tungsten nanocrystals

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
 [1];  [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Zhejiang Univ., Hangzhou (China). Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Lab. of Silicon Materials
  3. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)

Twinning is commonly activated in plastic deformation of low stacking fault face-centered cubic (Fcc) metals but rarely found in body-centered cubic (Bcc) metals under room temperature and slow strain rates. Here, by conducting in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) at atomic scale, we discovered that, in stark contrast to those in most Fcc metals, a majority of deformation twins in Bcc metals are unstable and undergo spontaneously detwinning upon unloading. Such unexpected instability of Bcc twins was found to be closely related to the prevalence of the inclined twin boundaries—a peculiar structure where twin boundaries are not parallel to the twinning plane, and the degree of instability is in direct proportion to the fraction of the inclined twin boundary. This work provides significant insights into the structure and stability of deformation twins in Bcc metals.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830; CMMI 1760916
OSTI ID:
1638497
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-152500
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 11, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 32 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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