recrystallization

In an article published today in Science, we have demonstrated the creation of an extreme gradient-nano-grained (GNG) structure in single-crystal microcubes through high-velocity impact. We use the defect-free single-crystal silver microcubes, synthesized using a seed-growth process, as the model system, and fire them at supersonic velocities onto a rigid target to create the GNG structure.

Recrystallization is one of the most important physical phenomena in condensed matter that has been utilized for materials processing for thousands of years in human history. It is generally believed that recrystallization is thermally activated and a minimum temperature must be achieved for the necessary atomic mechanisms to occur. Here, using atomistic simulations, we report a new mechanism of dynamic recrystallization that can operate at temperature as low as T = 10 K in metals during deformation.