Nanostructured film

Like other nanomaterials, nanostructured films have sparked much interest as they possess unique properties not found in bulk, non-nanostructured material of the same composition.

Control over nano-twinning, tailoring of specific types of grain boundaries, and restricting the movement and propagation of dislocations have been demonstrated using films produced via magnetron sputtering.

[5] Control of the fraction of grains in a material with nano-twins present has great potential for less expensive alloys and coatings with a good degree of corrosion resistance.

Compound nanostructured films composed of crystalline MgCu2 cores encapsulated by amorphous glassy shells of the same material were shown to possess a near-ideal mechanical strength.

[2] The crystalline MgCu2 cores, typically less than 10 nm in size, were found to substantially strengthen the material by restricting the movement of dislocations and grains.