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Enhanced strength and ductility in a high-entropy alloy via ordered oxygen complexes

Author

Listed:
  • Zhifeng Lei

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Xiongjun Liu

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Yuan Wu

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Hui Wang

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Suihe Jiang

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Shudao Wang

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Xidong Hui

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Yidong Wu

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

  • Baptiste Gault

    (Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung)

  • Paraskevas Kontis

    (Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung)

  • Dierk Raabe

    (Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung)

  • Lin Gu

    (Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Qinghua Zhang

    (Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Houwen Chen

    (Chongqing University)

  • Hongtao Wang

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Jiabin Liu

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Ke An

    (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

  • Qiaoshi Zeng

    (Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Pudong)

  • Tai-Gang Nieh

    (University of Tennessee)

  • Zhaoping Lu

    (University of Science and Technology Beijing)

Abstract

Oxygen, one of the most abundant elements on Earth, often forms an undesired interstitial impurity or ceramic phase (such as an oxide particle) in metallic materials. Even when it adds strength, oxygen doping renders metals brittle1–3. Here we show that oxygen can take the form of ordered oxygen complexes, a state in between oxide particles and frequently occurring random interstitials. Unlike traditional interstitial strengthening4,5, such ordered interstitial complexes lead to unprecedented enhancement in both strength and ductility in compositionally complex solid solutions, the so-called high-entropy alloys (HEAs)6–10. The tensile strength is enhanced (by 48.5 ± 1.8 per cent) and ductility is substantially improved (by 95.2 ± 8.1 per cent) when doping a model TiZrHfNb HEA with 2.0 atomic per cent oxygen, thus breaking the long-standing strength–ductility trade-off11. The oxygen complexes are ordered nanoscale regions within the HEA characterized by (O, Zr, Ti)-rich atomic complexes whose formation is promoted by the existence of chemical short-range ordering among some of the substitutional matrix elements in the HEAs. Carbon has been reported to improve strength and ductility simultaneously in face-centred cubic HEAs12, by lowering the stacking fault energy and increasing the lattice friction stress. By contrast, the ordered interstitial complexes described here change the dislocation shear mode from planar slip to wavy slip, and promote double cross-slip and thus dislocation multiplication through the formation of Frank–Read sources (a mechanism explaining the generation of multiple dislocations) during deformation. This ordered interstitial complex-mediated strain-hardening mechanism should be particularly useful in Ti-, Zr- and Hf-containing alloys, in which interstitial elements are highly undesirable owing to their embrittlement effects, and in alloys where tuning the stacking fault energy and exploiting athermal transformations13 do not lead to property enhancement. These results provide insight into the role of interstitial solid solutions and associated ordering strengthening mechanisms in metallic materials.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhifeng Lei & Xiongjun Liu & Yuan Wu & Hui Wang & Suihe Jiang & Shudao Wang & Xidong Hui & Yidong Wu & Baptiste Gault & Paraskevas Kontis & Dierk Raabe & Lin Gu & Qinghua Zhang & Houwen Chen & Hongtao, 2018. "Enhanced strength and ductility in a high-entropy alloy via ordered oxygen complexes," Nature, Nature, vol. 563(7732), pages 546-550, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:563:y:2018:i:7732:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0685-y
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0685-y
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    Cited by:

    1. O. El Atwani & H. T. Vo & M. A. Tunes & C. Lee & A. Alvarado & N. Krienke & J. D. Poplawsky & A. A. Kohnert & J. Gigax & W.-Y. Chen & M. Li & Y. Q. Wang & J. S. Wróbel & D. Nguyen-Manh & J. K. S. Bald, 2023. "A quinary WTaCrVHf nanocrystalline refractory high-entropy alloy withholding extreme irradiation environments," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Xizheng Wang & Yunhao Zhao & Gang Chen & Xinpeng Zhao & Chuan Liu & Soumya Sridar & Luis Fernando Ladinos Pizano & Shuke Li & Alexandra H. Brozena & Miao Guo & Hanlei Zhang & Yuankang Wang & Wei Xiong, 2022. "Ultrahigh-temperature melt printing of multi-principal element alloys," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Linze Li & Bin Ouyang & Zhengyan Lun & Haoyan Huo & Dongchang Chen & Yuan Yue & Colin Ophus & Wei Tong & Guoying Chen & Gerbrand Ceder & Chongmin Wang, 2023. "Atomic-scale probing of short-range order and its impact on electrochemical properties in cation-disordered oxide cathodes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Ge Wu & Chang Liu & Yong-Qiang Yan & Sida Liu & Xinyu Ma & Shengying Yue & Zhi-Wei Shan, 2024. "Elemental partitioning-mediated crystalline-to-amorphous phase transformation under quasi-static deformation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    5. Chang Liu & Wenjun Lu & Wenzhen Xia & Chaowei Du & Ziyuan Rao & James P. Best & Steffen Brinckmann & Jian Lu & Baptiste Gault & Gerhard Dehm & Ge Wu & Zhiming Li & Dierk Raabe, 2022. "Massive interstitial solid solution alloys achieve near-theoretical strength," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    6. Tong Li & Tianwei Liu & Shiteng Zhao & Yan Chen & Junhua Luan & Zengbao Jiao & Robert O. Ritchie & Lanhong Dai, 2023. "Ultra-strong tungsten refractory high-entropy alloy via stepwise controllable coherent nanoprecipitations," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-7, December.
    7. Jing Wang & Ping Jiang & Fuping Yuan & Xiaolei Wu, 2022. "Chemical medium-range order in a medium-entropy alloy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-6, December.
    8. Yan Chong & Ruopeng Zhang & Mohammad S. Hooshmand & Shiteng Zhao & Daryl C. Chrzan & Mark Asta & J. W. Morris & Andrew M. Minor, 2021. "Elimination of oxygen sensitivity in α-titanium by substitutional alloying with Al," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    9. Bin Ouyang & Yan Zeng, 2024. "The rise of high-entropy battery materials," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-5, December.
    10. Yeqiang Bu & Yuan Wu & Zhifeng Lei & Xiaoyuan Yuan & Leqing Liu & Peng Wang & Xiongjun Liu & Honghui Wu & Jiabin Liu & Hongtao Wang & R. O. Ritchie & Zhaoping Lu & Wei Yang, 2024. "Elastic strain-induced amorphization in high-entropy alloys," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    11. Bo Xiao & Junhua Luan & Shijun Zhao & Lijun Zhang & Shiyao Chen & Yilu Zhao & Lianyong Xu & C. T. Liu & Ji-Jung Kai & Tao Yang, 2022. "Achieving thermally stable nanoparticles in chemically complex alloys via controllable sluggish lattice diffusion," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.

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