Abstract: Investigating domain boundaries and their effects on the behaviour of materials automatically implies the need for detailed knowledge on the structural aspects of the atomic configurations at these interfaces. Not only in view of nearest neighbour interactions but also at a larger scale, often surpassing the unit cell, the boundaries can contain structural elements that do not exist in the bulk. In the present contribution, a number of special boundaries resulting from phase transformations or crystal growth and those recently investigated by advanced transmission electron microscopy techniques in different systems will be reviewed. These include macrotwins between microtwinned martensite plates in NiAl, austenite-single variant martensite habit planes in low hysteresis NiTiPd, nanotwins in non-textured nanostructured Pd and ferroelastic domain boundaries in CaTiO3. In all discussed cases these boundaries play an essential role in the properties of the respective materials.

Abstract: In-situ bright field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) nanomechanical tensile testing and in-situ automated crystallographic orientation mapping in TEM were combined to unravel the elementary mechanisms controlling the plasticity of ultrafine grained Aluminum freestanding thin films. The characterizations demonstrate that deformation proceeds with a transition from grain rotation to intragranular dislocation glide and starvation plasticity mechanism at about 1% deformation. The grain rotation is not affected by the character of the grain boundaries. No grain growth or twinning is detected. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Abstract: Shape memory alloys inherit their macroscopic properties from their mesoscale microstructure originated from the martensitic phase transformation. In a cubic to orthorhombic transition, a single variant of martensite can have a compatible (exact) interface with the austenite for some special lattice parameters in contrast to conventional austenite/twinned martensite interface with a transition layer. Experimentally, the phase compatibility results in a dramatic drop in thermal hysteresis and gives rise to very stable functional properties over cycling. Here, we investigate the microstructures observed in Ti50Ni50-xPdx alloys that undergo a cubic to orthorhombic martensitic transformation using a three-dimensional phase field approach. We will show that the simulation results are in very good agreement with transmission electron microscopy observations. However, the understanding of the drop in thermal hysteresis requires the coupling of phase transformation with plastic activity. We will discuss this point within the framework of thermoelasticity, which is a generic feature of the martensitic transformation. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4712629]

Abstract: We measured the electrical resistivity R(T) and specific heat C-p(T) between room temperature (RT) and 4.2 K as well as the microstructure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of a Ni-52 Ti-48 SMA quenched from 1000degreesC (B2-Phase range) to RT and then annealed for 1h at T=380degreesC, 550degreesC and 650degreesC. In the “as quenched” and the “650degreesC annealed” state no martensitic transformations (MT's) occur. The diffraction patterns show faint reflections originating from coherent Ni4Ti3 precipitates in an early state of formation. Additional reflections of the type 1/2 <110>, 1/2 <111> and 1/3 <110> result from various lattice displacement waves, which are precursors of the MT's to the B19' and R-phase, respectively. Indeed, high resolution TEM micrographs of the [001] zone of the “as quenched” sample reveal transverse 1/2 <110> <110> lattice displacement waves, precursors of the B19' martensite. The coherent Ni4Ti3 precipitates, homogeneously distributed on a small length scale, binder the MT's in the “as quenched” and the “650degreesC annealed” state, and thus only the precursors appear. When annealed at T=380degreesC, however, coherent Ni4Ti3 precipitates with a length of 10nm are clearly visible in TEM. These precipitates trigger the NIT from the B2 to the R-phase on cooling, as evidenced also by anomalies in R(T) and C-p(T). Annealing at T-550degreesC leads to the well known two step MT's from the B2 to the R-phase and then into the B19'-phase. These martensitic transitions are clearly seen as additional peaks in the specific heat and anomalies in the resistance, while the “as quenched” and 650degreesC annealed samples show weak features in R(T) and C-p(T).

Abstract: We present a theoretical study of macrotwins arising in cubic to tetragonal martensitic transformations. The results help to explain some features of such macrotwins observed in Ni65Al35.

Abstract: The nucleation and growth mechanisms of Ni5Al3 precipitates and microtwinned plates in B2 austenite and 2M (3R) martensite phases are described on the basis of conventional and high resolution electron microscopy. In the Ni62.5Al37.5 B2 austenite matrix short annealings at 550 degrees C introduce three-pointed star shaped precipitates consisting of twin related parts of different variants of the Ni5Al3 structure. Longer annealings result in plates growing separately from these wings and developing microtwinning in order to accommodate stress built-up at the interfaces with the surrounding matrix. Annealing of Ni65Al35 2M martensite plates induces simple reordering into the Ni5Al3 phase, increasing the fct c/a ratio by about 1%. As a result stracking faults are introduced in the smallest twin variants.

Abstract: Strain fields introduced by coherent Ni4Ti3 precipitates in austenitic Ni-Ti are believed to be a possible origin of why the R-phase transformation is introduced as an extra step before transforming to the B19'. The presence of this strain field was already confirmed in the past by conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques and measured quantitatively by high resolution TEM (HRTEM). This time the geometrical phase method is applied on HRTEM micrographs to measure the full 3D strain tensor of the strain fields. Since each atomic resolution micrograph only results in a 2D measurement of the strain, observations in two different zone orientations are combined to retrieve the 3 x 3 strain tensor. In this work observations in a [1-1 1](B2) and [1 0-1](B2) zone orientation are used and this in case of precipitates with a diameter of around 50nm. In a next step the measured strain tensor is compared to the calculated eigenstrain of the R-phase in reference to the B2 matrix. This comparison shows that the introduced strain is very similar to the eigenstrain of one R-phase variant. Since for both structures, Ni4Ti3 and R-phase, four orientation variants are possible, each variant of the R-phase is thus able to accommodate the strain field of one of the Ni4Ti3 variants.

Abstract: The three-dimensional size, morphology and distribution of Ni4Ti3 precipitates growing in binary Ni-rich Ni-Ti alloys have been investigated via a slice view procedure in a Dual-Beam FIB/SEM system, in order to better stress-free Ni50.8Ti49.2 alloy with all four variants of precipitates and a compressed Ni51Ti49 alloy with aligned precipitates in one family were studied. The Ni4Ti3 precipitates reach a volume fraction of 9.6% in the reconstructed region of the stress-free alloy and 4.3% in the compressed one. In both cases, the mean volume, specific surface area, sphericity and aspect ratio of the precipitates are calculated and the Pair Distribution Functions of the precipitates are obtained. It is shown that most precipitates in the stress-free sample grow larger and have a more lenticular shape, while those in the compressed sample are more cylindrical. Deviations from these ideal shapes reveal internal steps in the stress-free sample and lamellae formation in the compressed one.

Abstract: Stable emissive carbon nanodots were generated in zeolite crystals using near infrared photon irradiation gradually converting the occluded organic template, originally used to synthesize the zeolite crystals, into discrete luminescent species consisting of nano-sized carbogenic fluorophores, as ascertained using Raman microscopy, and steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. Photoactivation in a confocal laser fluorescence microscope allows 3D resolved writing of luminescent carbon nanodot patterns inside zeolites providing a cost-effective and non-toxic alternative to previously reported metal-based nanoclusters confined in zeolites, and opens up opportunities in bio-labelling and sensing applications.