Microstructures and Properties of Nanophase Materials Crystallized from Amorphous Alloys

Polycrystalline materials with nanometer-sized grains, or called nanophase materials, can be formed by crystallizing amorphous alloys completely under proper heat treat-ment conditions. Structural investigations demonstrated that the as-crystallized nanophase materials exhibit some special microstructural characteristics and properties which are fundamentally different from those of the conventional polycrystals and the amorphous solids. In this work, some recent results were summarily reviewed on structural characteristics and properties of these materials. The defects, interfacial structure, and the lattice structure of the nanophase materials will be dealt with. Some properties are presented with discussions on the structure-property relationship in nanophase materials.