“…The mechanical properties of the welds, castings, sinters and coatings are strongly affected by the type, amount (thickness) and morphology of IMCs due to their hard and brittle nature [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. It is well known that the thickness of IMCs should be controlled to less than 10 μm to obtain a sound dissimilar joint, e.g., Al/Mg [5], Al/Ti [6], Al/Cu [7], Mg/steel [8] and Al/steel [9]. Recently, Kim et al [2] found that by controlling the morphology of FeAl-type IMCs in cast steel, the ductility of the steel was significantly enhanced, which could alleviate the harmful effects of the hard and brittle nature of the IMCs.…”