Martensitic transformations occur in steels and other metals when the material is quenched or cooled. During the transformation, a metastable phase transforms in an autocatalytic way into a thermodynamically stable phase. Thus, it has been considered to be impossible to control the size of martensite in the order of nanometers. Here, we report the formation and dispersion of nanosized martensite in stainless steels by controlling the dislocation density and temperature. Electron microscopy revealed that martensite particles of approximately 5 nm in diameter were dispersed. Since both work hardening and precipitation hardening are effective in this material, this would be an additional, newly discovered strengthening mechanism for steels.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.