Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 18, 2025
10:36
Electric-field Control of Electronic States in WS2 Nanodevices by Electrolyte Gating
Published on: April 12, 2018
11.9K
Anti-twinning in nanoscale tungsten
Jiangwei Wang1, Zhi Zeng2, Minru Wen2,3
1Center of Electron Microscopy and State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
Science Advances
|June 16, 2020
Summary
Scientists discovered anti-twinning deformation in nanoscale body-centered cubic (BCC) tungsten crystals, a phenomenon previously thought impossible. This finding in tungsten nanowires reveals new mechanical behaviors in nanomaterials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Solid Mechanics
Background:
- Nanomaterials exhibit unique phenomena not observed in bulk materials.
- Deformation mechanisms in nanocrystalline materials are crucial for their mechanical properties.
- Twinning and anti-twinning are fundamental deformation modes in crystalline solids.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate deformation mechanisms in nanoscale body-centered cubic (BCC) tungsten crystals.
- To report the discovery of anti-twinning deformation in BCC tungsten nanowires.
- To understand the conditions under which anti-twinning becomes active at the nanoscale.
Main Methods:
- In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) nanomechanical testing.
- Observation of nucleation and growth of anti-twins in tungsten nanowires.
- Analysis of atomic-scale shear pathways during deformation.
Main Results:
- Anti-twinning deformation was observed in tungsten nanowires with diameters < 20 nm.
- A specific shear displacement of 1/3〈111〉 on {112} planes characterizes anti-twinning.
- Anti-twinning requires ultrahigh stresses in nanosized BCC crystals due to limited plastic shear carriers.
Conclusions:
- Anti-twinning is an active deformation mechanism in nanoscale BCC tungsten crystals.
- The asymmetry in shear pathways makes anti-twinning more resistant than ordinary twinning.
- This discovery opens possibilities for enhancing nanomaterial mechanical performance through unconventional deformation.
