- Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Simulated grain boundary showing cage clustering (blue) at a titanium grain boundary. The blue atoms are titanium atoms in the vertices of the icosahedral cages, the red atoms are iron atoms and the gray atoms are other titanium atoms. Copyright C. Liebscher
Materials Research

Surprise at the grain boundary

For the first time, an international research team has been able to observe how solute elements introduce new grain boundary phases using state-of-the-art microscopy and simulation techniques.

Using state-of-the-art microscopy and simulation techniques, an international research team systematically observed how iron atoms alter the structure of grain boundaries in titanium. They were in for a surprise: “Iron atoms not only segregate to the interface, but they form entirely unexpected cage-like structures,” explains Prof. Dr. Christian Liebscher from the Research Center Future Energy Materials and Systems of the University Alliance Ruhr. The researchers did not expect such a behavior. Their findings have been published in the journal Science on October 25, 2024.

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Published
October 29th, 2024
Author
Meike Drießen (md), translated by Christian Liebscher