November 10, 2026
A joint research team from the University of Rochester and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has come up with an innovative technology to change the internal structure of molybdenum metal, which is highly heat-resistant at room temperature, by applying precise local pressure and without the need for high temperatures as was usual in the past.
Details of the discovery were published on November 9 on the University of Rochester website, before the official results were published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.” Experiments and computer models have shown that the actual mechanism differs from what the researchers previously expected, as a “Nanoindenter” tool equipped with a very precise diamond tip is used to apply intense pressure in a microscopic area on the surface of the metal.
The technique relies on strict control of the applied force; The diamond pressure causes a rapid movement known as “Pop-in” that begins the recrystallization process. It is necessary to stop the pressure immediately at this moment to form new crystalline grains in the vicinity of the impact point without affecting the rest of the sample, while continuing the pressure may lead to the disappearance of those new crystalline grains.
Molybdenum has a tremendous ability to withstand temperatures exceeding 2600 degrees Celsius, making it an essential element in harsh applications such as nuclear reactors, jet engine turbine blades, and rocket nozzles. Previously, the process of recrystallizing the metal and repairing its damaged areas required heating the entire metal to a thousand degrees Celsius or more, according to Afnan Mustafa, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering in the laboratory of researcher Niaz Abdul Rahim.
In addition to heavy industries, the metal receives great interest from the semiconductor sector, as it is being studied as a potential substitute for copper in the manufacture of micro-electrical connections for electronic chips. As the chip industry resorts to shrinking the size of components to meet the needs of artificial intelligence, the problem of high electrical resistance of copper in precise dimensions arises, while molybdenum excels at overcoming this problem, despite suffering from the risk of sudden breakage at room temperature.
Niaz Abdul Rahim, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Rochester, explained that the research team initially assumed that pressure would lead to the metal transforming into a new solid phase, but it turned out that a different mechanism would occur, driven by mechanical stresses. This technology allows control of the size, shape and orientation of crystalline grains responsible for the strength and ductility of the material, paving the way for repairing local defects in large samples.
These results are still limited to scientific research and experiments supported by the National Science Foundation in the United States, pending further studies to verify its efficiency in improving molybdenum’s resistance to breakage and developing its commercial performance in electronic industries.
