Application of long-range ordering in the synthesis of a nanoscale Ni₂ (Cr,Mo) superlattice with high strength and high ductility

We demonstrate that bulk nanoscale materials with high strength and high ductility can be synthesized by using long-range ordering in certain alloy systems. In the case of a Ni-18.6 atomic % Mo-15.1 atomic % Cr, a bulk nanoscale superlattice of Ni₂(Cr,Mo) isomorphous with Pt₂Mo has been synthesized by thermal aging at 700 °C. The superlattice is shown to have high strength and high ductility as well as high thermal stability. Although the yield strength is nearly doubled in the ordered state exceeding 800 MPa, the material is found to maintain about 70% of its initial tensile ductility corresponding to 42% engineering strain. This behavior has been related to the crystallography of the ordering transformation. Although most of the slip systems of the parent face-centered cubic lattice are suppressed by ordering, most of the twinning systems remain energetically favorable. Therefore, deformation in the ordered state is found to predominantly occur by twinning rather than by slip giving rise to the observed combination of high strength and high ductility.