Superior zero thermal expansion dual-phase alloy via boron-migration mediated solid-state reaction

Chengyi Yu; Kun Lin; Xin Chen; Suihe Jiang; Yili Cao; Wenjie Li; Liang Chen; Ke An; Yan Chen; Dunji Yu; Kenichi Kato; Qinghua Zhang; Lin Gu; Li You; Xiaojun Kuang; Hui Wu; Qiang Li; Jinxia Deng; Xianran Xing

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-38929-0

Superior zero thermal expansion dual-phase alloy via boron-migration mediated solid-state reaction

Nat Commun. 2023 May 30;14(1):3135. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38929-0.

Authors

Chengyi Yu¹, Kun Lin², Xin Chen¹, Suihe Jiang¹, Yili Cao¹, Wenjie Li¹, Liang Chen¹, Ke An³, Yan Chen³, Dunji Yu³, Kenichi Kato⁴, Qinghua Zhang⁵, Lin Gu⁵, Li You¹, Xiaojun Kuang⁶, Hui Wu⁷, Qiang Li¹, Jinxia Deng¹, Xianran Xing⁸

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, and Institute of Solid State Chemistry, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
² Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, and Institute of Solid State Chemistry, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China. kunlin@ustb.edu.cn.
³ Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
⁴ RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-Cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo, 679-5148, Japan.
⁵ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
⁶ Guangxi Key Laboratory of Electrochemical and Magnetochemical Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, P. R. China.
⁷ NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-6102, US.
⁸ Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, and Institute of Solid State Chemistry, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China. xing@ustb.edu.cn.

Abstract

Rapid progress in modern technologies demands zero thermal expansion (ZTE) materials with multi-property profiles to withstand harsh service conditions. Thus far, the majority of documented ZTE materials have shortcomings in different aspects that limit their practical utilization. Here, we report on a superior isotropic ZTE alloy with collective properties regarding wide operating temperature windows, high strength-stiffness, and cyclic thermal stability. A boron-migration-mediated solid-state reaction (BMSR) constructs a salient "plum pudding" structure in a dual-phase Er-Fe-B alloy, where the precursor ErFe₁₀ phase reacts with the migrated boron and transforms into the target Er₂Fe₁₄B (pudding) and α-Fe phases (plum). The formation of such microstructure helps to eliminate apparent crystallographic texture, tailor and form isotropic ZTE, and simultaneously enhance the strength and toughness of the alloy. These findings suggest a promising design paradigm for comprehensive performance ZTE alloys.

Abstract

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