Abstract
Experiments and simulations show that the microstructural stability of nanocrystalline Cu can be improved by adding impurity atoms, such as Sb, which migrate to the grain boundaries. Cu100-xSbx alloys are cast in three compositions (Cu-0.0, 0.2 and 0.5 at.%Sb) and subsequently processed into nanocrystalline form by equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE). The presence of Sb atoms at the grain boundaries increases the recrystallization temperature to 400 簞C compared to 200 簞C for pure nanocrystalline Cu, which was verified by measurements of microhardness, ultimate tensile strength, grain size using TEM, and Auger electron spectroscopy. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed using a wider range of Sb compositions (0.0 to 1.0 at.%Sb) to study the underlying mechanisms associated with stability. MD simulations show that Sb atoms reduce excess grain boundary energy and that 0.2 and 0.5 at.%Sb is enough to stabilize the nanocrystalline Cu microstructure.
