Nanocrystalline metallic materials, while possessing high strength, typically suffer from poor ductility and rapid grain coarsening. This research introduces a core-shell nanostructure in a multi-component alloy to simultaneously address these challenges. The strategy utilizes an ordered superlattice core excelling in dislocation accumulation, encased by a disordered face-centered-cubic nanolayer acting as dislocation sources. This core-shell structure achieves a high tensile strength of 2.65 GPa, large uniform elongation of 17%, and high thermal stability of 1173 K. The ordered core retards dislocation motion, while the disordered shell promotes dislocation emission and accommodates plastic strain, preventing intergranular cracking. This design shows promise for developing high-performance materials.

Fenghui Duan, Qian Li, Zhihao Jiang, Lin Zhou, Junhua Luan, Zheling Shen, Weihua Zhou, Shiyuan Zhang, Jie Pan, Xin Zhou, Tao Yang, Jian Lu