Materials scientists have found a way to produce ultra-hard nickel, which could be useful in industrial manufacturing.

Researchers often harden metals by rapidly deforming them to disrupt their microstructure. This creates a congested arrangement of randomly oriented crystalline grains that block atomic movement and make the metal difficult to bend or scratch.

Ke Lu from the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science in China and his colleagues report a technique that produces denser, smaller grains than any other method. They used a tungsten-carbide-based tool to grind the surface of a rapidly spinning nickel rod; the result was a 'nanolaminated' surface packed with ultra-fine grains. That structure made the nickel extremely hard and strong, even when heated to 500 °C. The same process could be used to make other metals less susceptible to wear and fatigue, the researchers say.

Science 342, 337–340 (2013)