Stimulating the inverse transformation of amorphous second-phase particles in irradiated Zr alloy to modulate the nanostructure

Amorphization of the second phase particles in irradiated zirconium alloys tends to lead to defect formation, radiation growth and corrosion resistance reduction, while conventional annealing requires higher temperature to promote amorphous crystallization transformation, which may reduce the performance of materials. Based on the difference of electrical properties between the second phase particles and the matrix, the pulsed electric current can induce the crystallization of amorphous second phase particles at a lower temperature by introducing additional electrical free energy, so as to achieve the microregion regulation of materials. The pulsed electric current effectively reduces the recrystallization activation energy of the second phase particles from 96 kJ/mol to 63.68 kJ/mol, thus lowering the recrystallization barrier to accelerate its process. The proposed pulsed electric current can rapidly reverse the crystal structure of amorphous second phase particles at lower temperatures, which provides a novel idea for adjusting the microstructure of metal materials.