TY - JOUR
T1 - Nanotwinning and amorphization of boron suboxide
AU - Kunka, Cody
AU - An, Qi
AU - Rudawski, Nicholas
AU - Subhash, Ghatu
AU - Zheng, James
AU - Halls, Virginia
AU - Singh, Jogender
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is supported by the Department of the Army [ W91CRB-16-C-0035 ], the Army Research Office [ ARO-W911NF-14-1-0230 and W911NF-18-1-0040 ], National Science Foundation [ DGE-1315138 (GRFP: Graduate Research Fellowship Program), ACI-1053575 TG-MSS15006 ( XSEDE: Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment ), CMMI−1727428 ], and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission [ NRC-HQ-84-15-G-0028 ]. We recognize the experimental work of Matthew DeVries (SEM, dynamic indentation), Alison Trachet (XRD), and Andres Trucco (SEM). We acknowledge the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Research Service Centers for use of transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, and focused ion beam.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Acta Materialia Inc.
PY - 2018/4/1
Y1 - 2018/4/1
N2 - Recently, researchers discovered that in contrast to isolated twins, periodic twins with nanoscale spacing can dramatically improve mechanical properties. Ceramics engineers now seek to incorporate this “nanotwinning” into icosahedral solids because of their high strength, high stability, and low mass density. In this manuscript, we assert that boron suboxide, while far less studied than boron carbide (i.e., the most popular icosahedral solid), possesses higher propensity for nanotwinning and higher theoretical promise. For boron suboxide, the influence of processing on twin spacing is explored through mechanical testing and transmission electron microscopy. Quantum-mechanical simulations are then performed to suggest a critical twin spacing that would maximize performance and to show how to track experimental nanotwinning with x-ray diffraction. Finally, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy show that amorphization, the localized loss of crystallinity, drives mechanical failure in ways unique to boron suboxide.
AB - Recently, researchers discovered that in contrast to isolated twins, periodic twins with nanoscale spacing can dramatically improve mechanical properties. Ceramics engineers now seek to incorporate this “nanotwinning” into icosahedral solids because of their high strength, high stability, and low mass density. In this manuscript, we assert that boron suboxide, while far less studied than boron carbide (i.e., the most popular icosahedral solid), possesses higher propensity for nanotwinning and higher theoretical promise. For boron suboxide, the influence of processing on twin spacing is explored through mechanical testing and transmission electron microscopy. Quantum-mechanical simulations are then performed to suggest a critical twin spacing that would maximize performance and to show how to track experimental nanotwinning with x-ray diffraction. Finally, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy show that amorphization, the localized loss of crystallinity, drives mechanical failure in ways unique to boron suboxide.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.actamat.2018.01.048
DO - 10.1016/j.actamat.2018.01.048
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85041463388
SN - 1359-6454
VL - 147
SP - 195
EP - 202
JO - Acta Materialia
JF - Acta Materialia
ER -