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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
The ductile versus brittle response of Cu bicrystal interfaces with different misorientations and Bi segregation levels has been investigated. The fracture behavior of the bicrystals and the morphology of the fracture surfaces depends on the type of the interface and the amount of impurity segregation. The different fracture behaviors of the bicrystals can to some extent be understood by considering the difference in grain boundary structure and comparing the theoretically predicted values of crack tip energy release rates for dislocation emission from the crack tip versus for cleavage decohesion of the grain boundary. However, the effects of Bi segregation in inducing embrittlement seem greater than can currently be rationalized by such a concept and, also, there is evidence that fracture surfaces may not always coincide, microscopically, with the interface.