- By:
- Yu, Chengyi; Wu, Honghui; Zhu, Huihui; Chen, Xin; Zhang, Qinghua; Gu, Lin; Frontzek, Matthias D; Chen, Yan ; An, Ke ; He, Lunhua; Kato, Kenichi; Kawaguchi, Shogo; Qiao, Zeyu; Zhou, Meisa; Cao, Yili; Li, Qiang; Deng, Jinxia; Lin, Kun; Xing, Xianran; Zhang, Qiang ; Chen, Yujie
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Page Number:
- 2435-2435
- Volume:
- 17
- Issue Number:
- 1
- Publication Date:
- September 8, 2026
- View DOI Listing:
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69365-5
Abstract
Endowing functional properties with mechanical responses in traditional metals has been a frontier topic, akin to transforming base metal into gold. Chromium and its alloys, with their functional deficiencies and limited ductility, serve as typical examples. Herein, we report a Cr96Fe4Ge1.3B1 alloy that unifies low thermal expansion (LTE, αl = 1.79 × 10-6 K-1, 200 − 315 K) with exceptional toughness (240.2 J·cm-3). The enhancement in mechanical responses is primarily attributed to layered Cr2B intermetallic precipitates, which ameliorate interfacial cohesion and simultaneously refine the grain structure. The weakened interlayer interactions within the Cr-B layers facilitate the nucleation and movement of numerous tiny stacking faults in precipitates, efficiently alleviating strain energy and resulting in marked work-hardening ability. Additionally, antiferromagnetic fluctuations in the BCC matrix contribute to the unique LTE behavior. This paves the way for the design of high-performance alloys featuring layered-symmetry precipitates.
