Rapid sintering of ultrafine-grained refractory metals under mild conditions (opens in new tab)

Refractory metals are promising for aerospace and nuclear applications because of their high melting points and stability. However, the processing procedure still encounters challenges due to the high melting point and strong bond strength resulting from the high delocalized electron density of refractory metals. Here we show that liquid metals can dilute this electron density and weaken bond strength, enabling the efficient extraction, dissolution and recombination of refractory metal atoms....