Enhancement of cube texture in Ni by the addition of W or Mo

The development of cube texture after heavy cold rolling (～95%) and annealing has been studied in pure Ni, Ni–5 at% W and Ni–5 at% Mo alloys. The two Ni alloys develop a much sharper cube texture compared to pure Ni, thus indicating the beneficial effect of W or Mo addition. W and Mo enhance the cube texture intensity in Ni by decreasing the volume fraction of the rotated cube grains. The impact of W and Mo addition is seen from a very early stage of recrystallization, where rotated cube grains form in pure Ni as opposed to sharp cube-oriented grains in the two Ni alloys. The results negate the widely perceived theory of ‘detrimental effect of impurities’ on the development of cube texture.