Preferred orientation and shape of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Al–Mg alloy dendrites

Abstract

Al–Mg electrodeposition yielded face centered cubic (fcc)-Al(Mg) nanocrystalline featherlike dendrites consisting a stem and several arms exhibiting strong morphological anisotropy and microtexture. Various morphological features and preferred orientations lead to a crystallographic model suggesting that the stem and arms contain nanograins with their high energy {011} and {001} planes perpendicular to the growth directions. The dendrites grow with both low ({111}) and high ({001}) energy planes of nanograins as growth planes. The shape of these dendrites was explained using preferred orientations of nanograins within.