Interstitial carbon induced FCC-Ti exhibiting ultrahigh strength in a Ti₃₇Nb₂₈Mo₂₈-C₇ complex concentrated alloy

An interstitial carbon induced-FCC-Ti was observed in a carbon-doped Ti₃₇Nb₂₈Mo₂₈-C₇ (atomic percentage) complex concentrated alloys (TNMC alloys). Not only the true crystal structure of this FCC-Ti was directly characterized using Cs-corrected STEM, but also the mechanical properties were tested by nanoindentation and micro-pillar compression for the first time. The FCC-Ti exhibited a high nano hardness of 17.8 GPa and a high elastic modulus of 233.1 GPa. The micropillar compression tests demonstrated the ultrahigh strengths of the interstitial C induced FCC-Ti (4.48 GPa at [1 1 1] direction, 2.67 GPa at [1 0 1] direction, and a CRSS of 1.12 ± 0.07 GPa). The nature of this FCC allotropic transformation was determined to be a rearrangement of lattice structure caused by interstitial C atoms, based on ab-initio studies. Findings in this study provide insights into the characteristics of FCC-Ti as well as the role of interstitial atoms in RCCAs which could open up unlimited possibilities in future material designing.