From embryos to precipitates: A study of nucleation and growth in a multicomponent ferritic steel

The nucleation and growth of nanoscale precipitates in a new class of high-strength, multicomponent, ferritic steels has been studied with complementary state-of-the-art microstructural characterization techniques of atom probe tomography for individual embryos and precipitates and small-angle neutron scattering for their statistical averages. Both techniques revealed a bimodal size distribution, with subnanometer embryos, and nanoscale precipitates. The embryos, which have a radius of {~}0.4 nm, are enriched in Cu and served as preferential sites for nucleation. The critical radius for nucleation was determined to be {~}0.7 nm. Subsequent growth of the precipitates is dictated by volumetric diffusion, as predicted by the Lifshitz--Slyozov--Wagner theory.