Effects of annealing and impurities on tensile properties of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni

The strength of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni increased rather than decreased after annealing for I h at temperatures below 150degreesC, with little change in the grain sizes or detectable impurity segregation. Annealing at 200degreesC can be utilized to tailor the grain size distribution for improved ductility in combination with good strength. Further annealing at above 250degreesC, however, induced a transition to brittle behavior due to impurity segregation to grain boundaries concurrent with grain growth. (C) 2004 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.