Solute segregation at grain boundaries

This feature article summarizes the present art and science of grain boundary segregation from the viewpoint of the authors activities in this field. In the part on equilibrium segregation, fundamental effects on grain boundary segregation are discussed such as the nature of the solute/matrix binary system, presence of additional elements, temperature, grain boundary orientation and type of interface. In addition, the predictive capabilities of grain boundary segregation diagrams are outlined. The present models of segregation kinetics are reviewed and discussed in connection with recent experiments. The last part of the paper is focussed on the most important consequences of grain boundary segregation, i.e., grain boundary cohesion and fracture.