Inoculating solid-state homogeneous precipitation by impurity atoms through a spinodal decomposition like pathway

Inoculating solid-state homogeneous precipitation by impurity atoms through a spinodal decomposition like pathway | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article Inoculating solid-state homogeneous precipitation by impurity atoms through a spinodal decomposition like pathway Yanjun Li, Shiwei Pan, Chunan Li, Hanne-Sofie Søreide, Dongdong Zhao, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4681864/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Solid-state homogeneous precipitation of nano-sized precipitates is one of the most effective processes to strengthen metal alloys, where the final density and size distribution of precipitates are largely controlled by the precipitation kinetics. Here, we report a strategy to inoculate the homogeneous precipitation of coherent precipitates to enhance the precipitation strengthening. Using the technologically important dilute Al-Zr alloys as an example, we demonstrate that an addition of a trace level of economical and readily available, non-L1 2 phase forming impurity atoms, X (X= Sn, Sb, Bi or Cd) and Si, can significantly enhance the diffusivity of Zr atoms and overturn the precipitation of L1 2 -structured Al 3 Zr nanoparticles from the classical homogeneous nucleation and growth pathway into a nonclassical nucleation pathway: Al 3 Zr forms through the spontaneous formation of nano-scale local concentration fluctuations of Zr atoms on Zr-X(-Si)-vacancy clusters followed by a continuous increase of the concentration and chemical short-range ordering (CSRO). Such an impurity atoms induced heterogeneous nucleation based on a “spinodal decomposition like” mechanism dramatically accelerates the precipitation kinetics, leading to an order of magnitude higher number density of precipitates and a record high hardening efficiency of solute Zr atoms. By formulating the generalized selection principles for inoculating impurity elements, this inoculation strategy should be extendable to a broader range of materials to further explore the precipitation strengthening potentials. Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Metals and alloys Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Mechanical properties Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files 44137.mp4 APT reconstruction showing one Sn-rich cluster in 200 ℃ pre-aged Al-Zr-Sn-Si alloy 44138.mp4 APT reconstruction showing one Sn-rich cluster in 200 ℃ pre-aged Al-Zr-Sn alloy. SupplementaryMaterials20240703forsubmission.docx Supplementary materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4681864","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":322688991,"identity":"2301a7e2-df13-4fb8-89bd-4195d0b69ba8","order_by":0,"name":"Yanjun Li","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAv0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACAyCWYWNvIFELDxvPAUZSNAG1MEgkEKnF4PjZA8W8Oxh4+CTfHn9c2MaQx09Qy5m8BGPeM0CHSeclNs9sYyiWJGSXwYEcA2PeNpCWHMNmICNxwwFCWs6/gWqRPEOslhswWyR4iNQieeONgeHcNglgIOcYzuY5J5E4k5Bf+M7nmBm8bbORk28/Y/CZp8wmsZ+ADgaFAwxswKiUgPEl8CmGAPkGBuYHhJWNglEwCkbBiAYABTE2Vcsl5mIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0346-5674","institution":"NTNU","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yanjun","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":322688992,"identity":"f9e63912-332a-4b46-9686-cc55f3736432","order_by":1,"name":"Shiwei Pan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NTNU","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shiwei","middleName":"","lastName":"Pan","suffix":""},{"id":322688993,"identity":"61f4c963-ba1d-4439-94f0-88bf1f87090c","order_by":2,"name":"Chunan Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NTNU","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chunan","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":322688994,"identity":"7dd03527-0c3c-4b16-b2cb-69238e64a6f3","order_by":3,"name":"Hanne-Sofie Søreide","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NTNU","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hanne-Sofie","middleName":"","lastName":"Søreide","suffix":""},{"id":322688995,"identity":"a5934d20-bd6e-4a85-8bae-b5ac1073060d","order_by":4,"name":"Dongdong Zhao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tianjin University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dongdong","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhao","suffix":""},{"id":322688996,"identity":"e1e0589d-f8aa-4bd5-b3e8-9666654ff993","order_by":5,"name":"Constantinos Hatzoglou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Norwegian University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Constantinos","middleName":"","lastName":"Hatzoglou","suffix":""},{"id":322688997,"identity":"22fd63b0-cece-4dcb-8f59-de486f718ae4","order_by":6,"name":"Feng Qian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NTNU","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Feng","middleName":"","lastName":"Qian","suffix":""},{"id":322688998,"identity":"0978d845-7361-4965-9979-3699c6ac7d51","order_by":7,"name":"Long-Qing Chen","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3359-3781","institution":"The Pennsylvania State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Long-Qing","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-07-03 16:40:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4681864/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4681864/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":60623826,"identity":"944192bc-f4ec-452f-9cc6-0747e5ab8fe3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-18 21:53:43","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":10859032,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscriptandextendeddata20240703forsubmission.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4681864/v1_covered_86b322c2-4731-408b-bd4a-4c590c79eb12.pdf"},{"id":60010798,"identity":"4736388a-a074-4555-8d62-df5b72b06622","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-10 13:20:17","extension":"mp4","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":794742,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"APT reconstruction showing one Sn-rich cluster in 200 \u0026#x2103; 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Here, we report a strategy to inoculate the homogeneous precipitation of coherent precipitates to enhance the precipitation strengthening. Using the technologically important dilute Al-Zr alloys as an example, we demonstrate that an addition of a trace level of economical and readily available, non-L1\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e phase forming impurity atoms, X (X= Sn, Sb, Bi or Cd) and Si, can significantly enhance the diffusivity of Zr atoms and overturn the precipitation of L1\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e-structured Al\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eZr nanoparticles from the classical homogeneous nucleation and growth pathway into a nonclassical nucleation pathway: Al\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003eZr forms through the spontaneous formation of nano-scale local concentration fluctuations of Zr atoms on Zr-X(-Si)-vacancy clusters followed by a continuous increase of the concentration and chemical short-range ordering (CSRO). 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