Microstructure and homogeneity of nanocrystalline Co–Cu supersaturated solid solutions prepared by mechanical alloying

Abstract

Mechanical alloying (MA) has been performed in the Co_xCu_(100−x) (x = 10, 25, 50, 60, 75, and 90) system. High resolution electron microscopy (HREM) and field emission gun transmission electron microscopy (FEG TEM) were used to characterize the micro-structure and homogeneity of the nanocrystalline Co₂₅Cu₇₅ solid solution. After 20 h of MA, all the mixtures show an entirely face-centered cubic (fcc) phase. HREM shows that the ultrafine-grained (UFG) materials prepared by MA contain a high density of defects. Two kinds of typical defects in UFG Co₂₅Cu₇₅ are deformation twins and dislocations. The dislocations are mostly 60° type, and in many cases they dissociate into 30° and 90° partials. The grain boundaries are ordered in structure, curved, and slightly strained, which is similar to that observed in NC–Pd. Nanoscale energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) shows that the Co concentration in both the interior of grains and the GB’s is close to the global composition, which proves that supersaturated solid solutions are indeed formed. In the meantime EDXS revealed that the mixing of Co and Cu in the solid solutions is homogeneous at nanometer scale. MA in the Co–Cu system is suggested to be a diffusion-controlled process, and stress-stimulated diffusion is proposed to be the reason for the formation of supersaturated solid solutions in this immiscible system.