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Nanostructured high-strength molybdenum alloys with unprecedented tensile ductility

Nature Materials volume 12, pages 344–350 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The high-temperature stability and mechanical properties of refractory molybdenum alloys are highly desirable for a wide range of critical applications. However, a long-standing problem for these alloys is that they suffer from low ductility and limited formability. Here we report a nanostructuring strategy that achieves Mo alloys with yield strength over 800 MPa and tensile elongation as large as ~ 40% at room temperature. The processing route involves a molecular-level liquid–liquid mixing/doping technique that leads to an optimal microstructure of submicrometre grains with nanometric oxide particles uniformly distributed in the grain interior. Our approach can be readily adapted to large-scale industrial production of ductile Mo alloys that can be extensively processed and shaped at low temperatures. The architecture engineered into such multicomponent alloys offers a general pathway for manufacturing dispersion-strengthened materials with both high strength and ductility.

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Figure 1: Comparison of room-temperature tensile behaviour for three different types of Mo alloys.
Figure 2: Comparison of (L–L) mixing and liquid–solid (L–S) mixing processes and resulting microstructures.
Figure 3: TEM images showing the microstructures of ODS-Mo and NS-Mo.
Figure 4: Distribution of grain and particle sizes.
Figure 5: Yield strength versus total tensile elongation of NS-Mo in comparison with available literature data.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51171149, 51171142, 50831004), the 973 Program of China (No. 2010CB631003), the 863 Key Project of China (No. 2008AA031000), the National Science Technology Supporting Program of China (No. 2012BAE06B02), and the 111 Project of China (B06025). We thank L. Wang and J. H. Luo, from JinDuiCheng Molybdenum, China, for their assistance in the production and application of the NS-Mo alloys. E.M. was supported in part by an adjunct professorship at XJTU.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

    G. Liu, G. J. Zhang, F. Jiang, X. D. Ding, Y. J. Sun, J. Sun & E. Ma

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China

    G. J. Zhang

  3. Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP-Nano), State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

    J. Sun & E. Ma

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland 21218, Baltimore, USA

    E. Ma

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Contributions

J.S. designed and supervised the project, G.J.Z., G.L., F.J. and Y.J.S. carried out the experiments, G.L., X.D.D. and J.S. performed the calculations, E.M., G.L. and J.S. wrote the paper. All the co-authors contributed to discussions.

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Correspondence to J. Sun or E. Ma.

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Liu, G., Zhang, G., Jiang, F. et al. Nanostructured high-strength molybdenum alloys with unprecedented tensile ductility. Nature Mater 12, 344–350 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3544

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