Grain boundary engineering: historical perspective and future prospects

• Published in: Journal of materials science Vol. 46; no. 12; pp. 4095 - 4115
• Main Author: Watanabe, Tadao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.06.2011; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Classical Mechanics; Crystallography and Scattering Methods; Engineering; Functional materials; Grain boundaries; History of engineering; Iib 2010; Materials Science; Polycrystals; Polymer Sciences; Solid Mechanics; Intergranular Corrosion; Interface Engineering; Random Boundary; Polycrystalline Material; Boundary Connectivity
• ISSN: 0022-2461; 1573-4803
• DOI: 10.1007/s10853-011-5393-z

A brief introduction of the historical background of grain boundary engineering for structural and functional polycrystalline materials is presented herewith. It has been emphasized that the accumulation of fundamental knowledge about the structure and properties of grain boundaries and interfaces has been extensively done by many researchers during the past one century. A new approach in terms of the concept of grain boundary and interface engineering is discussed for the design and development of high performance materials with desirable bulk properties. Recent advancements based on these concepts clearly demonstrate the high potential and general applicability of grain boundary engineering for various kinds of structural and functional materials. Future prospects of the grain boundary and interface engineering have been outlined, hoping that a new dimension will emerge pertaining to the discovery of new materials and the generation of a new property originating from the presence of grain boundaries and interfaces in advanced polycrystalline materials.