Effect of electropulsing treatment on microstructure and tensile fracture behavior of nanocrystalline Ni foil

Abstract Electropulsing treatment (EPT) is utilized to increase the plasticity of nanocrystalline Ni foil. Uniaxial tensile tests at room temperature are adopted to investigate the influence of EPT on the mechanical properties under different peak current density. It is shown that electropulsing with certain strength can improve the elongation significantly. The evolution of the fracture morphology, stacking faults, twinning and dislocation of nanocrystalline Ni under EPT is studied via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the plastic deformation mechanism under EPT is also researched.