Microstructural changes of nanocrystalline nickel during cold rolling

The microstructural changes of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Ni with an initial grain size of about ∼30–40 nm during cold rolling up to 76% thickness reduction have been studied using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. In response to the cold deformation processing we observed significant changes in the scale and morphology of grains, defect content, as well as of crystallographic texture. Our experimental findings for nanocrystalline Ni are directly compared to the behavior of coarse-grained Ni. The role of the grain scale reduction to the nanometer regime is discussed with respect to the microstructural changes.