Morphological instability of iron-rich precipitates in Cu Fe Co alloys

The mechanical properties of metallic materials are determined by their microstructure, and in particular, the different morphologies of precipitates lead to distinct strengthening effects. Usually, the shape of precipitates changes during growth and coarsening regimes, leading to modification of the macroscopic properties of the materials. Thus, understanding of this phenomenon is key to tailoring the precipitate strengthening of industrial alloys. In this article, a general approach to explain the shape instability of iron-rich nanoparticles in Cu-Fe-Co alloys during casting and ageing processes is proposed. The evolution of particle shape from sphere to cuboid to petal and finally splitting into eight sub-nanoparticles is observed using transmission electron microscopy. Phase-field modelling and thermodynamic calculations are combined into a general model that describes and elucidates the morphological evolution of precipitates in alloys in terms of particle size, interfacial and elastic strain energy, and chemical driving force. These findings have the potential to promote new microstructural design approaches for a wide range of materials.