Mo nanocrystallite effects on nanostructural properties of stainless steel

Mechanical properties of stainless steel can be improved by grain size refinement down to nanocrystalline structures. In the present work, the effects of Mo nanoparticles on stainless steel powders synthesized using the sol-gel method have been studied. The results show that decreasing of the size of Mo crystallites in stainless steel is accompanied by phase transformations as well as the mesoporous surface area and narrow pore size distribution. The structure of the synthesized sample was investigated by XRD (X-ray diffraction), AFM (atomic force microscopy) and SEM (scanning electron microscopy) technologies. As revealed in AFM, SEM images and XRD patterns, worm-like pores were formed and ordered to some extent. The influence of various conditions on the structure of ordered mesoporous stainless steel is also discussed.