Structure and Properties of Materials

5 - Imperfection in Solid Materials

- Diffusion

Prof Ahmed Elsabbagh

Imperfections in the atomic
and ionic arrangement
• The atomic arrangements in a crystalline lattice
is almost always not perfect.
• There are defects in the way atoms are arranged in
the crystalline solids.
• So we can say that in crystalline solids some Lattice
Irregularities are alwayspresent.
• These crystalline defects are not bad. Some are
intentionally introduced toimprove the material.

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 Types of Crystalline Defects

• POINT DEFECTS are classified on the basis of their

geometry and dimensionality.
(Vacancies, self interstitials, substitutional defects,
impurity atoms)
• LINE DEFECTS (one dimensional) (Dislocations)

• INTERFACIAL DEFECTS (two dimensional) (Grain

Boundaries)

• VOLUME DEFECTS (three dimensional) (ShrinkageCavity)

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 PointDefects
Point defect: localized disruption in perfect atomic or ionic arrangement
in a crystal structure

Examples of
substitutional defects
include phosphorus (P)
or boron (B) into Si.
Extra
atom
or ion Interstitial defect
results in the
surrounding crystal
region is compressed
and distorted.
Interstitial atoms such
as hydrogen are often
present as impurities,
whereas carbon atoms
are intentionally
added to iron to
Vacancies are created during process of solidification produce steel.
or due to thermal agitations of lattice atoms. 4
 DISLOCATIONS
• Dislocations are LINEAR DEFECTand represent
a line around which atoms in the crystalline
lattice are misaligned.
• They are introduced typically into the crystal
during solidification of the material or when
material is deformed permanently.
• Two Types of Dislocations
– SCREWDISLOCATION
– EDGEDISLOCATION

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 EDGE DISLOCATION
•Slicing partway through a perfect crystal, spreading the
crystal apart, and partly filling the cut with an extra plane
of atoms

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EDGEDISLOCATION

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 SCREW DISLOCATION
•Cutting partway through a perfect crystal, then skewing the
crystal one atom spacing.

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 Surface defects
• Surface defects are the boundaries, or planes
that separate a material into regions, eachregion
having the same crystal structure but different
orientation.
• A grain is a portion of material within whichthe
arrangement of the atoms is nearly identical.
• A grain boundary, the surface that separates the
individual grains, is a narrow zone in which the
atoms are not properly spaced.

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Schematic diagrams of the solidification stages of a polycrystalline material; the
square grids depict unit cells. (a) Small crystallite nuclei. (b) Growth of the crystallites;
the obstruction of some grains that are adjacent to one another is also shown.
(c)Upon completion of solidification, grains having irregular shapes haveformed.
(d)The grain structure as it would appear under the microscope; dark lines are the
grain boundaries.

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 INTERFACIAL DEFECTS
(GRAIN BOUNDARIES)
• Boundary separating two
small grains or crystals
having different
crystallographic orientations
in polycrystalline materials.

• Within the boundary region,

which is probably just
several atom distances
wide, there is some atomic
mismatch in a transition
from the crystalline
orientation of one grain to
that of an adjacent one.

• Various degrees of
crystallographic
misalignment between
adjacent grains are
possible ( Figure 4.7).
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• The atoms are bonded less regularly along a grainboundary
⇒ interfacial or grain boundary energy similar to surface
energy.
• Grain boundaries are more chemically reactive than the grains
themselves as a consequence of this boundaryenergy.
• Impurity atoms often preferentially segregate along these
boundaries because of theirhigher energy state.
• Because of less total boundary area, the total interfacial energy
is lower in large or coarse-grained materials than in fine-grained
ones.
• Grains grow at elevated energy to reduce the total boundary
energy

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 Diffusion
• Diffusion can be defined as the mechanism by
which atom is transported through matter
• Atoms in gases (Smell of fragrance), liquid (ink in
water) and solid (Carburization) are in constant
motion and migrate over a period of time.
• In gases atomic movements is relatively rapid
when compared with liquid and solids.
 Applications of diffusion
• Carburization of surface hardening of steels
• Creation of plastic beverages
• Oxidation of aluminum

Carburization Surface coating

 Diffusion mechanism
• There are two main mechanisms of diffusion of
atoms in a crystalline lattice:
1- The vacancies or substitutional mechanism
2- The interstitial mechanism
1- Vacancies or Substitutional Mechanism

increasing elapsed time

1- Vacancies or Substitutional Mechanism

Adapted from
Figs. 5.1 and
5.2, Callister
7e.

Like Cu – Ni here
 1- Vacancies or Substitutional Mechanism

Substitutional Diffusion:
• applies to substitutional impurities
• atoms exchange with vacancies
• rate depends on:
-- number of vacancies
-- temperature
-- activation energy to exchange.
 1- Vacancies or Substitutional Mechanism

Initial state Intermediate state Final state

Energy
Activation energy

Also called energy barrier for diffusion

2- Interstitial diffusion – smaller atoms can diffuse
between atoms.

More rapid than vacancy diffusion

Adapted from Fig. 5.3 (b), Callister7e.
 Factors affecting diffusion
• Temperature

• Bonding and crystal structure

• Concentration of diffusing species and

composition of matrix
In your text book, you are asked
to study:
Chapter 4 page 90 to 104
Lab of Sample Preparation