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Bismuth-induced embrittlement of copper grain boundaries

Nature Materials volume 3, pages 621–626 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

Catastrophic brittle fracture of crystalline materials is one of the best documented but most poorly understood fundamental phenomena in materials science. Embrittlement of copper by bismuth is a classic example of this phenomenon. Because brittle fracture in any structural material can involve human tragedy, a better understanding of the mechanisms behind it is of the highest interest. In this study, we use a combination of two state-of-the-art atomic characterization techniques and ab initio theoretical materials simulations to investigate the geometric and electronic structure of a copper grain boundary with and without bismuth. Only with this unique combination of methods are we able to observe the actual distribution of bismuth in the boundary and detect changes in the electronic structure caused by the bismuth impurity. We find that the copper atoms that surround the segregated bismuth in the grain boundary become embrittled by taking on a more zinc-like electronic structure.

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Figure 1: Atomic resolution Z-contrast images of the grain-boundary region of a symmetric 36.8° <001> tilt boundary.
Figure 2: Experimental Cu-L3 near-edge structure from the grain boundary and the adjacent grains.
Figure 3: Calculated Cu-L3 near-edge structure from the boundary region.
Figure 4: Comparison of the DOS between the Bi-doped Cu grain boundary (7 nearest neighbours of Bi) and bulk Cu.
Figure 5: Calculated charge density from copper grain-boundary region.

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Acknowledgements

This research was sponsored by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, US Department of Energy at Oak Ridge National Laboratory under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under contract HO 708/15-1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Condensed Matter Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, 37831-6030, Tennessee, USA

    Gerd Duscher & Matthew F. Chisholm

  2. Materials Science & Engineering Department, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, 27692, North Carolina, USA

    Gerd Duscher

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, Heisenbergstr. 3, Stuttgart, D-70569, Germany

    Uwe Alber & Manfred Rühle

Authors
  1. Gerd Duscher
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  2. Matthew F. Chisholm
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  3. Uwe Alber
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  4. Manfred Rühle
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Correspondence to Matthew F. Chisholm.

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Duscher, G., Chisholm, M., Alber, U. et al. Bismuth-induced embrittlement of copper grain boundaries. Nature Mater 3, 621–626 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1191

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