Abstract
As one of the most effective mechanisms, precipitation-hardening is widely used to
strengthen high-entropy alloys. Yet, heavy precipitation-hardened high-entropy alloys
usually exhibit serious embrittlement. How to effectively achieve ultra-high strength
and maintain reliable ductility remains a challenge. Here, we report a study of doping
extremely little boron to meet this target. We found that adding of 30 ppm boron into
the heavy Ti and Al alloyed FCC FeCoNiCr high-entropy, (FeCoNiCr)
88
Ti
6
Al
6
HEA
(at.%) which is strengthened mainly by both coarse BCC-based (Ni, Co)
2
TiAl Heusler
and fine L1
2
-type FCC-based (Ni, Co)
3
TiAl precipitates and shows ultrahigh strength
but poor ductility, could significantly change the original microstructure and
consequently improve mechanical performance,
owing to the well-known effect of
boron on reducing the energy of grain boundaries
. The boron addition can (1) eliminate
microcavities formed at Heusler precipitate-matrix interfaces; (2) suppress the
formation and segregation of coarse BCC Heusler precipitates; (3) promote the
formation of L1
2
nanoparticles. This changes of microstructure substantially improve
the tensile ductility more than by ~86% and retain comparable or even better ultimate
tensile strength. These findings may provide a simple and costless solution to produce
heavy precipitation-strengthened HEAs with ultrahigh strength and prevent accidental
brittleness.
Keywords:
High-entropy alloy; Precipitation strengthening; Boron; Ductility