High strength and high ductility in as-deposited nanocrystalline Ni

In the present study, an electrodeposited nanocrystalline (nc) Ni sample with high strength and superior ductility relative to many other electrodeposited nc-Ni was prepared. The superior ductility in the present nc-Ni sample free of defects was ascribed to mixed grains, the size of which spanned nano- and sub-micro scales at its as-deposited state with a grain size distribution ranged from 5 to 120nm. Obvious dislocation motion happening in coarse-grained polycrystalline was observed in large grains of nc-Ni matrix resulting in a remarkable enhanced ductility without a decrease in the strength. The present nc-Ni with an average grain size of 27.2nm prepared by direct current electrodeposition shows the average ultimate tensile strength of 1200MPa and the average elongation to failure of 10.4%.