Phase nucleation through confined spinodal fluctuations at crystal defects evidenced in Fe-Mn alloys.

ABSTRACT: Analysis and design of materials and fluids requires understanding of the fundamental relationships between structure, composition, and properties. Dislocations and grain boundaries influence microstructure evolution through the enhancement of diffusion and by facilitating heterogeneous nucleation, where atoms must overcome a potential barrier to enable the early stage of formation of a phase. Adsorption and spinodal decomposition are known precursor states to nucleation and phase transition; however, nucleation remains the less well-understood step in the complete thermodynamic sequence that shapes a microstructure. Here, we report near-atomic-scale observations of a phase transition mechanism that consists in solute adsorption to crystalline defects followed by linear and planar spinodal

SUBMITTER: Kwiatkowski da Silva A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5859155 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature