Defect reconfiguration in a Ti-Al alloy via electroplasticity.

It has been known for decades that the application of pulsed direct current can significantly enhance the formability of metals. However, the detailed mechanisms of this effect have been difficult to separate from simple Joule heating. Here, we study the electroplastic deformation of Ti-Al (7 at.% Al), an alloy that is uniquely suited for uncoupling this behaviour because, contrary to most metals, it has inherently lower ductility at higher temperature. We find that during mechanical deformation, electropulsing enhances cross-slip, producing a wavy dislocation morphology, and enhances twinning, which is similar to what occurs during cryogenic deformation. As a consequence, dislocations are prevented from localizing into planar slip bands that would lead to the early failure of the alloy under tension. Our results demonstrate that this macroscopic electroplastic behaviour originates from defect-level microstructural reconfiguration that cannot be rationalized by simple Joule heating.

Atomistic simulations of dislocation mobility in refractory high-entropy alloys and the effect of chemical short-range order.

Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) are designed for high elevated-temperature strength, with both edge and screw dislocations playing an important role for plastic deformation. However, they can also display a significant energetic driving force for chemical short-range ordering (SRO). Here, we investigate mechanisms underlying the mobilities of screw and edge dislocations in the body-centered cubic MoNbTaW RHEA over a wide temperature range using extensive molecular dynamics simulations based on a highly-accurate machine-learning interatomic potential. Further, we specifically evaluate how these mechanisms are affected by the presence of SRO. The mobility of edge dislocations is found to be enhanced by the presence of SRO, whereas the rate of double-kink nucleation in the motion of screw dislocations is reduced, although this influence of SRO appears to be attenuated at increasing temperature. Independent of the presence of SRO, a cross-slip locking mechanism is observed for the motion of screws, which provides for extra strengthening for refractory high-entropy alloy system.

The chain of chirality transfer in tellurium nanocrystals.

Despite persistent and extensive observations of crystals with chiral shapes, the mechanisms underlying their formation are not well understood. Although past studies suggest that chiral shapes can form because of crystallization in the presence of chiral additives, or because of an intrinsic tendency that stems from the crystal structure, there are many cases in which these explanations are not suitable or have not been tested. Here, an investigation of model tellurium nanocrystals provides insights into the chain of chirality transfer between crystal structure and shape. We show that this transfer is mediated by screw dislocations, and shape chirality is not an outcome of the chiral crystal structure or ligands.

Water-based chitosan/melamine polyphosphate multilayer nanocoating that extinguishes fire on polyester-cotton fabric.

Polyester-cotton (PECO) blends are widely used in the textile industry because they combine the softness of cotton and the strength and durability of polyester. Unfortunately, both fiber types share the disadvantage of being flammable. The layer-by-layer coating technique was used to deposit a highly effective flame retardant (melamine polyphosphate) from water onto polyester-cotton fabric. Soluble melamine and sodium hexametaphosphate form this water-insoluble flame retardant during the coating procedure. This unique nanocoating imparts self-extinguishing properties to PECO with only 12% relative coating weight. Vertical flame testing, pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry (PCFC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy were used to evaluate the quality of the coating as well as its flame retardant performance. A combination of both condensed and gas-phase activity appears to be the reason for this effective flame retardancy. Degradation pathways of both cotton and polyester are affected by the applied coating, as shown by PCFC and TGA. Use of environmentally benign and non-toxic chemicals, and the ease of layer-by-layer deposition, making this coating an industrially feasible alternative to render polyester-cotton fabric self-extinguishing.