Thermodynamic Stabilization of Grain Size in Nanocrystalline Metals

Abstract

This paper describes the stabilization of nanocrystalline grain sizes in Pd and Fe by the addition of Zr solute atoms. The grain size as a function of annealing temperature was measured by both x-ray diffraction (XRD) line broadening analysis and microscopy methods. The latter methods showed that the XRD grain size measurements for the samples annealed at the higher temperatures were not valid. It appears that thermodynamic stabilization may still be operative in the Fe-4at.% Zr alloy but not in the Pd-19at.% Zr alloy from the experimental results and calculations of the enthalpy of segregation.