Formation of ordered and disordered interfacial films in immiscible metal alloys

ZL Pan and TJ Rupert, SCRIPTA MATERIALIA, 130, 91-95 (2017).

DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2016.11.025

Atomistic simulations are used to study segregation-induced intergranular film formation in Cu-Zr and Cu-Nb alloys. While Cu-Zr forms structurally disordered or amorphous films, ordered films comprised of a second phase usually precipitate in Cu-Nb, with a critical nucleation size of similar to 1 nm below which the ordered phase cannot form. While the ordered film is retained at high temperature for a low energy Sigma 11 (113) boundary, a disordering transition is observed for a high energy Sigma 5 (310) boundary at low dopant concentrations. Finally, the effect of free surfaces on dopant segregation and intergranular film formation is investigated for both alloys. (C) 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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