Grain boundary segregation of elements in nanocrystalline films

The project is devoted to studying inner size effects, i.e. phenomena due to the inner interfaces of the samples. The physical cause of their effects is the grain boundaries energy. The increase in the free energy, due to the grain boundary contribution, allows us to expect a change in the properties of a substance in the nanocrystalline state. Like other size effects, inner size effects are due to the tendency to minimize free energy. The work is supposed to focus on those ways of optimizing that are associated with the grain-boundary segregation of external elements. It is assumed that the concentration of external elements at the grain boundaries will lead to a change in the integral properties of the entire sample. The project will study the kinetics of segregation of elements, the effect of grain size on the intensity of segregation, as well as the relationship between the mechanical properties of samples and their nanostructure. This will be the basis of a new scientific direction defining the relationship between the nanoscale and macroscale properties of the samples.