The Effect of Hydrogen on the Stress-Strain Response in Fe3Al: An ab initio Molecular-Dynamics Study.

We performed a quantum-mechanical molecular-dynamics (MD) study of Fe3Al with and without hydrogen atoms under conditions of uniaxial deformation up to the point of fracture. Addressing a long-lasting problem of hydrogen-induced brittleness of iron-aluminides under ambient conditions, we performed our density-functional-theory (DFT) MD simulations for T = 300 K (room temperature). Our MD calculations include a series of H concentrations ranging from 0.23 to 4 at.% of H and show a clear preference of H atoms for tetrahedral-like interstitial positions within the D03 lattice of Fe3Al. In order to shed more light on these findings, we performed a series of static lattice-simulations with the H atoms located in different interstitial sites. The H atoms in two different types of octahedral sites (coordinated by either one Al and five Fe atoms or two Al and four Fe atoms) represent energy maxima. Our structural relaxation of the H atoms in the octahedral sites lead to minimization of the energy when the H atom moved away from this interstitial site into a tetrahedral-like position with four nearest neighbors representing an energy minimum. Our ab initio MD simulations of uniaxial deformation along the ⟨001⟩ crystallographic direction up to the point of fracture reveal that the hydrogen atoms are located at the newly-formed surfaces of fracture planes even for the lowest computed H concentrations. The maximum strain associated with the fracture is then lower than that of H-free Fe3Al. We thus show that the hydrogen-related fracture initiation in Fe3Al in the case of an elastic type of deformation as an intrinsic property which is active even if all other plasticity mechanism are absent. The newly created fracture surfaces are partly non-planar (not atomically flat) due to thermal motion and, in particular, the H atoms creating locally different environments.

Simultaneously Toughening and Stiffening Elastomers with Octuple Hydrogen Bonding.

Current synthetic elastomers suffer from the well-known trade-off between toughness and stiffness. By a combination of multiscale experiments and atomistic simulations, a transparent unfilled elastomer with simultaneously enhanced toughness and stiffness is demonstrated. The designed elastomer comprises homogeneous networks with ultrastrong, reversible, and sacrificial octuple hydrogen bonding (HB), which evenly distribute the stress to each polymer chain during loading, thus enhancing stretchability and delaying fracture. Strong HBs and corresponding nanodomains enhance the stiffness by restricting the network mobility, and at the same time improve the toughness by dissipating energy during the transformation between different configurations. In addition, the stiffness mismatch between the hard HB domain and the soft poly(dimethylsiloxane)-rich phase promotes crack deflection and branching, which can further dissipate energy and alleviate local stress. These cooperative mechanisms endow the elastomer with both high fracture toughness (17016 J m-2 ) and high Young's modulus (14.7 MPa), circumventing the trade-off between toughness and stiffness. This work is expected to impact many fields of engineering requiring elastomers with unprecedented mechanical performance.

The beta Subunit of Nascent Polypeptide Associated Complex Plays A Role in Flowers and Siliques Development of Arabidopsis thaliana.

The nascent polypeptide-associated (NAC) complex was described in yeast as a heterodimer composed of two subunits, α and ß, and was shown to bind to the nascent polypeptides newly emerging from the ribosomes. NAC function was widely described in yeast and several information are also available about its role in plants. The knock down of individual NAC subunit(s) led usually to a higher sensitivity to stress. In Arabidopsis thaliana genome, there are five genes encoding NACα subunit, and two genes encoding NACß. Double homozygous mutant in both genes coding for NACß was acquired, which showed a delayed development compared to the wild type, had abnormal number of flower organs, shorter siliques and greatly reduced seed set. Both NACß genes were characterized in more detail-the phenotype of the double homozygous mutant was complemented by a functional NACß copy. Then, both NACß genes were localized to nuclei and cytoplasm and their promoters were active in many organs (leaves, cauline leaves, flowers, pollen grains, and siliques together with seeds). Since flowers were the most affected organs by nacß mutation, the flower buds' transcriptome was identified by RNA sequencing, and their proteome by gel-free approach. The differential expression analyses of transcriptomic and proteomic datasets suggest the involvement of NACß subunits in stress responses, male gametophyte development, and photosynthesis.

Strength and Brittleness of Interfaces in Fe-Al Superalloy Nanocomposites under Multiaxial Loading: An ab initio and Atomistic Study.

We present an ab initio and atomistic study of the stress-strain response and elastic stability of the ordered Fe 3 Al compound with the D0 3 structure and a disordered Fe-Al solid solution with 18.75 at.% Al as well as of a nanocomposite consisting of an equal molar amount of both phases under uniaxial loading along the [001] direction. The tensile tests were performed under complex conditions including the effect of the lateral stress on the tensile strength and temperature effect. By comparing the behavior of individual phases with that of the nanocomposite we find that the disordered Fe-Al phase represents the weakest point of the studied nanocomposite in terms of tensile loading. The cleavage plane of the whole nanocomposite is identical to that identified when loading is applied solely to the disordered Fe-Al phase. It also turns out that the mechanical stability is strongly affected by softening of elastic constants C ' and/or C 66 and by corresponding elastic instabilities. Interestingly, we found that uniaxial straining of the ordered Fe 3 Al with the D0 3 structure leads almost to hydrostatic loading. Furthermore, increasing lateral stress linearly increases the tensile strength. This was also confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations employing Embedded Atom Method (EAM) potential. The molecular dynamics simulations also revealed that the thermal vibrations significantly decrease the tensile strength.

Extraordinary deformation capacity of smallest carbohelicene springs.

The extraordinary deformation and loading capacity of nine different [∞]carbohelicene springs under uniaxial tension up to their fracture were computed using the density functional theory. The simulations comprised either the experimentally synthetized springs of hexagonal rings or the hypothetical ones that contained irregularities (defects) as, for example, pentagons replacing the hexagons. The results revealed that the presence of such defects can significantly improve mechanical properties. The maximum reversible strain varied from 78% to 222%, the maximum tensile force varied in the range of 5 nN to 7 nN and, moreover, the replacement of hexagonal rings by pentagons or heptagons significantly changed the location of double bonds in the helicenes. The fracture analysis revealed two different fracture mechanisms that could be related to the configurations of double and single bonds located at the internal atomic chain. Simulations performed with and without van der Waals interactions between intramolecular atoms showed that these interactions played an important role only in the first deformation stage.