On the mechanical performance and deformation of nanotwinned Ag

In this study, the mechanical performance and deformation behavior of various nano-twinned Ag foils were evaluated under two deformation modes. It was generally observed that the addition of nanotwins led to an enhanced strength, but the overall plastic flow and ductility decreased. Using a bimodal distribution of nanotwinned and non-nanotwinned grains was shown to be a possible route for overcoming this limitation. Specifically, some strengthening was observed which can be attributed to the nanotwinned grains, while the ductility was attributed to the contribution from non-nanotwinned grains. The overall deformation behavior is presented and discussed in terms of the nanotwin volume fraction.