Bioinspired low-magnetic Zr alloy with high strength and ductility

Generally, high strength and high ductility are two mutually exclusive properties of engineering materials. Nacre exhibits high strength and toughness owing to the presence of intelligent brick-and-mortar architectures. The present study demonstrates the design of a bioinspired nacre-like Zr-1Mo alloy via an appropriate thermomechanical treatment. The α-Zr phases and the elongated β-Zr nanoparticles in the alloy functioned as the hard bricks and soft mortar, respectively. Consequently, the nacre-like Zr-1Mo alloy possesses a high potential for biomaterial applications owing to its unique combination of high tensile strength (~812–968 MPa), high ductility (~10.3–12.6%), and low magnetic susceptibility (~1.2–1.4 × 10⁻⁶ cm³ g⁻¹). This work provides new insights into the fabrication of bioinspired metallic materials with exceptionally high strength and ductility.