Neutron small-angle scattering study of phase decomposition in Au–Pt

Isothermal decomposition of a Au-60 at.% Pt alloy, quenched from the solid as well as the liquid state, has been studied with the D11 neutron small-angle scattering spectrometer at ILL, Grenoble. An incident neutron wavelength of 6.7 Å was used and measurements were carried out in the range of scattering vector [β = 4πsin θ/λ] from 2.8 × 10−2 to 21 × 10−2 Å−1. The preliminary results indicate that decomposition of this alloy at 550°C takes place by a spinodal mode, although deviations were observed from linear spinodal theory, even at very early times. Slower aging kinetics were observed in liquid-quenched alloy as compared with solid-quenched. Liquid quenching is more efficient in suppressing quench clustering than is solid quenching. However, liquid quenching yields an extremely fine-grained material, which thereby enhances discontinuous precipitation at grain boundaries, competing with decomposition in the bulk. A Rundman–Hilliard analysis was used for the early stages of the spinodal reaction to obtain an interdiffusion coefficient of the order of 10−16 cm2 s−1 at 550°C for the solid-quenched alloy.