The roles of thermodynamics and transformation kinetics on phase selection in the non-equilibrium processing of materials

The interplay between thermodynamics and transformation kinetics dictates phase selection during non-equilibrium materials processing. Computing thermodynamics is now a well-recognised technique for the development of multi-component materials, where a thorough experimental study is nearly impossible. Indeed, thermodynamics plays an important role for microstructural engineering, unless kinetics exerts major barriers for phase transformation. The latter plays a dominant role for microstructural development under non-equilibrium processing conditions. This paper demonstrates the importance of both thermodynamics and kinetics on phase selection in far-from-equilibrium conditions, using examples such as the stability of metallic glasses, phase selection during sputter deposition, and phase transformation in energetic ion beam synthesised materials.