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Influence of oxygen on thermal stability of nanocrystalline aluminum studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy

The thermal stability of nanocrystalline (nc) Al has been studied by means of positron lifetime spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD), prepared by compacting nanoparticles under high pressures. Those nanoparticles were produced by the flow-levitation (FL) method [1] and the arc-discharge (DC) method. Effect of oxide at nanoparticle surface on structure stability was investigated especially in this experiment. The positron lifetime results reveal that vacancy clusters in grain boundaries are dominant positron traps according to the high relative intensity of the positron lifetime τ2 in both samples. The mean grain size of the sample consisting of nanoparticles with partially oxidized surfaces is almost unchanged after aging at 150 for 84 h, with that of the sample consisting of pure nc Al increasing. The partially oxidized surfaces of nanoparticles hinder the growth of grain when aging at 150, vacancy clusters related to Al2O3 need longer aging time to decompose, which implies that the oxide stabilizes the microstructure of the nanomaterials. The effect is beneficial for nc materials to keep excellent properties.