Experimental evidence of zonal dislocations in the Ti2AlC MAX phase

The dislocation configurations of a Ti2AlC-MAX phase deformed under severe plastic deformation by surface mechanical attrition treatment have been analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Results show that the microstructure of the deformed Ti2AlC sample is composed of numerous (a)-dislocations, which interact with each other notably with dipolar configurations. In addition, we report here (a)-dislocation dissociations in the basal plane with a dissociation distance of approximately 20 nm, following the reaction 31 (2110)<#.31 (1100) + 3 (1010). Finally, evidence of zonal dislocations is reported. These original results are discussed in the context of 1 the fundamental deformation mechanisms of nanolayered ternary alloys.