Close-ups of grain boundaries reveal how sulfur impurities make nickel brittle
Tuesday, July 17, 2018 - 12:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have shed new light on a scientific mystery regarding the atomic-level mechanism of the sulfur embrittlement of nickel, a classic problem that has puzzled the scientific community for nearly a century. The discovery also enriches fundamental understanding of general grain boundaries that often control the mechanical and physical properties of polycrystalline materials.