Issue 20, 2022

Phase transition and nanomechanical properties of refractory high-entropy alloy thin films: effects of co-sputtering Mo and W on a TiZrHfNbTa system

Abstract

Refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs) that consist of multiple principal refractory elements have attracted significant attention due to their many interesting and useful properties for structural applications. However, so far, a vast majority of reports on RHEAs focused on a few well-known compositions such as NbMoTaW, NbMoTaWV, and TiZrHfNbTa. The discovery of new RHEAs with enhanced mechanical properties has been highly desirable. Here we produce two new RHEA thin films – TiZrHfNbTaMo and TiZrHfNbTaW, by co-sputtering Mo or W on a previously studied TiZrHfNbTa RHEA system. The TiZrHfNbTaMo and TiZrHfNbTaW thin films exhibit an amorphous state, while the TiZrHfNbTa one shows a nanocrystalline structure. Using the nanoindentation method, we show that the addition of Mo or W in the TiZrHfNbTa during the co-sputtering process increases the hardness while resulting in comparable elastic moduli. Through the strain rate sensitivity tests of the thin films, we obtain their activation volumes and discuss their deformation mechanisms in the nanoindentation tests.

Graphical abstract: Phase transition and nanomechanical properties of refractory high-entropy alloy thin films: effects of co-sputtering Mo and W on a TiZrHfNbTa system

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 mar 2022
Accepted
06 apr 2022
First published
07 apr 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 7561-7568

Phase transition and nanomechanical properties of refractory high-entropy alloy thin films: effects of co-sputtering Mo and W on a TiZrHfNbTa system

C. Cheng, X. Zhang, M. J. R. Haché and Y. Zou, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 7561 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR01635D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements