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Acta Metall Sin  2026, Vol. 62 Issue (9): 1478-1486    DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2025.00398
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In Situ Quantification of Fracture Surface Self-Healing in Monocrystalline Nb4AlC3MAX Phase Nanowires
CUI Junfeng1, HU Xiaofei2, CHEN Guoxin2, LI Youbing3, KE Peiling2(), ZHAO Hongwei1()
1 School of Materials Science and Physics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
2 Public Technology Center, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
3 School of Radiation Medicine and Protection, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
Cite this article: 

CUI Junfeng, HU Xiaofei, CHEN Guoxin, LI Youbing, KE Peiling, ZHAO Hongwei. In Situ Quantification of Fracture Surface Self-Healing in Monocrystalline Nb4AlC3MAX Phase Nanowires. Acta Metall Sin, 2026, 62(9): 1478-1486.

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Abstract  

The development of high-strength self-healing materials with heat and radiation resistance is crucial for improving the safety and reliability of advanced nuclear energy systems. However, conventional self-healing materials—including polymers and their composites—suffer from low strength, poor thermal stability, and insufficient irradiation resistance, severely limiting their practical applications in harsh nuclear environments. Self-healing of metallic or ceramic materials at high temperatures can be achieved through oxidation, atomic diffusion, or phase changes; however, this is impractical for in-service components. MAX phases are a family of nanolayered ternary carbides and nitrides with the general formula Mn+ 1AXn. Their unique combination of metallic and ceramic properties—including high-temperature stability and radiation and damage tolerance—makes them promising candidates for nuclear applications. Nevertheless, the nanoscale self-healing behavior of MAX phases, particularly the underlying mechanisms and quantitative healing efficiency, remains largely unexplored. Moreover, the mechanical properties of single-crystalline Nb4AlC3MAX phase nanowires, particularly their fracture behaviors and postfracture self-healing capability, have not yet been systematically investigated. In this work, monocrystalline [0001]-oriented Nb4AlC3MAX phase nanowires were fabricated using focused ion beam-based nanofabrication. The mechanical behavior and fracture surface self-healing were quantitatively investigated by in situ tensile testing within TEM, elucidating the mechanical properties and fracture mechanisms under uniaxial tension along the c-axis and revealing the atomistic mechanisms governing room-temperature spontaneous self-healing of fractured surfaces. An electron beam irradiation strategy is also proposed to enhance healing efficiency and elucidate its underlying physical mechanisms. The results show that the nanowires exhibit brittle fracture under tensile stress (fracture strength: 6.98 GPa, super-elongation: 11.5%), attributed to the size effect and absence of defects at the nanoscale. The fractured surfaces spontaneously self-healed at room temperature, recovering 30.2% of the original fracture strength. Atomic-scale HRTEM characterization reveals that atomic rebonding across the fracture surfaces and atomic migration dominate self-healing. Furthermore, electron beam irradiation can cause lattice expansion along the c-axis and promote atomic migration, enabling more atoms to participate in rebonding and thereby further enhancing the healing efficiency (up to 56.3% recovery).

Key words:  Nb4AlC3MAX phase      elongation      self-healing      irradiation      atomic migration     
Received:  03 December 2025     
ZTFLH:  O341  
Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(52302203);Key Program of Jiangsu Provincial Research Foundation for Basic Research(BK20253032)

URL: 

https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2025.00398     OR     https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2026/V62/I9/1478

Fig.1  Characterizations of Nb4AlC3MAX phase powders (a1, a2) XRD patterns of experimental powder (a1) and standard powder (a2) (b, c) SEM (b) and HAADF-STEM (c) images (d) partially enlarged view of Fig.1c (Inset shows the Nb4AlC3MAX phase atomic model viewed along the [112¯0] direction)
Fig.2  Fabrication and characterization of the Nb4AlC3MAX phase nanowire
(a) SEM image of Nb4AlC3MAX phase particles
(b, c) SEM images of the push-to-pull (PTP) device (b) and corresponding enlarged view (c) (Nb4AlC3MAX sheet was fabricated from the particle, and transferred and fixed on PTP device)
(d) SEM image showing the thickness of the fabricated nanowire
(e, f) TEM image (e) and SAED pattern (f) of the fabricated nanowire
Fig.3  In situ quantitative TEM investigations on the fracture and self-healing behaviour of the Nb4AlC3MAX phase nanowire
(a) TEM images showing fracture (I-III) and unloading (IV) processes of the initial tension
(b) TEM images showing fracture (I-III) and unloading (IV) processes after self-healing for 1 h
(c) TEM images showing fracture (I-III) and unloading (IV) processes after irradiation-aided healing for 1 h
(d1, d2) tensile stress-strain curves during the initial tension (d1) and after self-healing and after irradiation-aided healing (d2)
Fig.4  Schematics showing the fracture and self-healing processes of the Nb4AlC3MAX phase nanowire (After unloading, the upper fracture surface returned to its initial position thanks to the springs in the PTP device, and there is no stress applied on the fracture surfaces because the springs are fully relaxed) (a, b) PTP device before (a) and after (b) fixing the sample (c, d) sample fractured under tensile strain (c) and fully unloaded (d)
Fig.5  HRTEM images of fracture surfaces of the Nb4AlC3MAX phase nanowire before (a) and after (b) the self-healing, and after the irradiation-aided healing (c) (Arrows represent fracture surfaces)
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