Study of growth twins and phase formation in CuNiAl alloys via a combinatorial approach

In this study, a combinatorial and high-throughput approach was leveraged to investigate nanotwin behavior in the ternary CuNiAl alloy system. Combinatorial co-sputtering was used to synthesize 169 unique CuNiAl alloy compositions, which were characterized in both the as-sputtered and annealed conditions to elucidate relationships between composition, nanotwin formation, and phase evolution. Compositional effects on phase formation were investigated using high-throughput X-ray diffraction, while scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to identify nanotwin compositional boundaries and isolate the roles of varied composition and nanotwin formation on microstructural evolution. It was determined that Al content was the primary variable influencing thermal evolution in the nanotwinned CuNiAl alloys, as it altered the thermodynamic driving forces by changing composition and reducing the as-sputtered twin boundary spacing. Overall, this work demonstrates a novel approach to globally study unexplored nanotwin synthesis domains beyond binary alloys.