An Ab Initio Investigation of Thermoelastic Phase Transformations in Transition Metal Alloys

The energy pathways associated with the martensitic transformation in shape memory alloys (SMAs), though the focus of extensive research over the past decades, are still unclear. In this work, we use a first-principles approach within the frame-work of density functional theory, as implemented in the Vienna ab initio simulation package (VASP), to model the transformation in transition metal alloys by tracking atomic motion via shear, shuffle and distortion during the transformation. We build a framework to investigate the f.c.c-h.c.p transformation in Co-based binary alloys which may be applied to ternary alloys as well. In the Co2NiGa Heusler system, by applying the Burgers transformation, we found a low-energy phase with orthorhombic symmetry (O) phase which is lower in energy than the experimentally observed L10. By performing a detailed analysis of the transformation paths (Burgers and Bain) taking into account perturbations on the ground state, it is seen that a phase selection problem exists: the ultimate crystal structure that the system transforms into, depends on the path that the system prefers. When coming from high temperature, the accessible path is that corresponding to the Bain transformation. Finally, we present a complete and unique 4-parameter model to describe the B2 − B19′transformation in Ni − Ti. We eliminate the possibility of the B19 phase being an intermediate phase in the transformation and show that it is in fact a barrier-less transformation. Crystallographic analysis of intermediate states shows that the B2 − B19′path follows a known crystallographic path

Real-time Atomistic Observation of Structural Phase Transformations in Individual Hafnia Nanorods

High-temperature phases of hafnium dioxide have exceptionally high dielectric constants and large bandgaps, but quenching them to room temperature remains a challenge. Scaling the bulk form to nanocrystals, while successful in stabilizing the tetragonal phase of isomorphous ZrO2, has produced nanorods with a twinned version of the room temperature monoclinic phase in HfO2. Here we use in situ heating in a scanning transmission electron microscope to observe the transformation of an HfO2 nanorod from monoclinic to tetragonal, with a transformation temperature suppressed by over 1000°C from bulk. When the nanorod is annealed, we observe with atomic-scale resolution the transformation from twinned-monoclinic to tetragonal, starting at a twin boundary and propagating via coherent transformation dislocation; the nanorod is reduced to hafnium on cooling. Unlike the bulk displacive transition, nanoscale size-confinement enables us to manipulate the transformation mechanism, and we observe discrete nucleation events and sigmoidal nucleation and growth kinetics

Real-time atomistic observation of structural phase transformations in individual hafnia nanorods

High-temperature phases of hafnium dioxide have exceptionally high dielectric constants and large bandgaps, but quenching them to room temperature remains a challenge. Scaling the bulk form to nanocrystals, while successful in stabilizing the tetragonal phase of isomorphous ZrO2, has produced nanorods with a twinned version of the room temperature monoclinic phase in HfO2. Here we use in situ heating in a scanning transmission electron microscope to observe the transformation of an HfO2 nanorod from monoclinic to tetragonal, with a transformation temperature suppressed by over 1000°C from bulk. When the nanorod is annealed, we observe with atomic-scale resolution the transformation from twinned-monoclinic to tetragonal, starting at a twin boundary and propagating via coherent transformation dislocation; the nanorod is reduced to hafnium on cooling. Unlike the bulk displacive transition, nanoscale size-confinement enables us to manipulate the transformation mechanism, and we observe discrete nucleation events and sigmoidal nucleation and growth kinetics

Experiment Design Frameworks for Accelerated Discovery of Targeted Materials Across Scales

Over the last decade, there has been a paradigm shift away from labor-intensive and time-consuming materials discovery methods, and materials exploration through informatics approaches is gaining traction at present. Current approaches are typically centered around the idea of achieving this exploration through high-throughput (HT) experimentation/computation. Such approaches, however, do not account for the practicalities of resource constraints which eventually result in bottlenecks at various stage of the workflow. Regardless of how many bottlenecks are eliminated, the fact that ultimately a human must make decisions about what to do with the acquired information implies that HT frameworks face hard limits that will be extremely difficult to overcome. Recently, this problem has been addressed by framing the materials discovery process as an optimal experiment design problem. In this article, we discuss the need for optimal experiment design, the challenges in it's implementation and finally discuss some successful examples of materials discovery via experiment design

Large magnetocaloric effects in magnetic intermetallics: First-principles and Monte Carlo studies

We have performed ab initio electronic structure calculations and Monte Carlo simulations of frustrated ferroic materials where complex magnetic configurations and chemical disorder lead to rich phase diagrams. With lowering of temperature, we find a ferromagnetic phase which transforms to an antiferromagnetic phase at the magnetostructural (martensitic) phase transition and to a cluster spin glass at still lower temperatures. The Heusler alloys Ni-(Co)-Mn-(Cr)-(Ga, Al, In, Sn, Sb) are of particular interest because of their large inverse magnetocaloric effect associated with the magnetostructural transition and the influence of Co/Cr doping. Besides spin glass features, strain glass behavior has been observed in Ni-Co-Mn-In. The numerical simulations allow a complete characterization of the frustrated ferroic materials including the Fe-Rh-Pd alloys

Large magnetocaloric effects in magnetic intermetallics: First-principles and Monte Carlo studies

We have performed ab initio electronic structure calculations and Monte Carlo simulations of frustrated ferroic materials where complex magnetic configurations and chemical disorder lead to rich phase diagrams. With lowering of temperature, we find a ferromagnetic phase which transforms to an antiferromagnetic phase at the magnetostructural (martensitic) phase transition and to a cluster spin glass at still lower temperatures. The Heusler alloys Ni-(Co)-Mn-(Cr)-(Ga, Al, In, Sn, Sb) are of particular interest because of their large inverse magnetocaloric effect associated with the magnetostructural transition and the influence of Co/Cr doping. Besides spin glass features, strain glass behavior has been observed in Ni-Co-Mn-In. The numerical simulations allow a complete characterization of the frustrated ferroic materials including the Fe-Rh-Pd alloys

Complex magnetic ordering as a driving mechanism of multifunctional properties of Heusler alloys from first principles

First-principles calculations are used to study the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of (Pd, Pt)-Mn-Ni-(Ga, In, Sn, Sb) alloys, which display multifunctional properties like the magnetic shapememory, magnetocaloric and exchange bias effect. The ab initio calculations give a basic understanding of the underlying physics which is associated with the complex magnetic behavior arising from competing ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions with increasing number of Mn excess atoms in the unit cell. This information allows to optimize, for example, the magnetocaloric effect by using the strong influence of compositional changes on the magnetic interactions. Thermodynamic properties can be calculated by using the ab initio magnetic exchange parameters in finite-temperature Monte Carlo simulations. We present guidelines of how to improve the functional properties. For Pt-Ni-Mn-Ga alloys, a shape memory effect with 14% strain can be achieved in an external magnetic field