Volume 219, Issue 9 2100840
Research Article

Characterization of Lattice Defects in Refractory Metal High-Entropy Alloy HfNbTaTiZr by Means of Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Jakub Čížek

Corresponding Author

Jakub Čížek

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Low-Temperature Physics, Charles University, V Holešovičkách 2, Prague 8, CZ-18000 Czech Republic

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Tomáš Vlasák

Tomáš Vlasák

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Low-Temperature Physics, Charles University, V Holešovičkách 2, Prague 8, CZ-18000 Czech Republic

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Oksana Melikhova

Oksana Melikhova

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Department of Low-Temperature Physics, Charles University, V Holešovičkách 2, Prague 8, CZ-18000 Czech Republic

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First published: 01 March 2022

Abstract

Lattice defects in refractory metal high-entropy alloy HfNbTaTiZr are investigated using positron lifetime spectroscopy combined with coincidence Doppler broadening (CDB) spectroscopy. Annealing of HfNbTaTiZr alloy at 1000 °C results in full recovery of defects and formation of single-phase random solid solution characterized by the bulk positron lifetime of 141 ps. This value is in accordance with the theoretical estimation. Quenching of the alloy from high temperature prevents recovery of thermally equilibrium vacancies and enables to retain a high concentration of vacancies in the sample at ambient temperature. For single vacancies in the HfNbTaTiZr alloy, a characteristic positron lifetime of 212 ps is measured, which is significantly shorter than the value estimated by theoretical calculations. It indicates that there is considerable ion relaxation around vacancies. The CDB spectroscopy investigations reveal that vacancies in HfNbTaTiZr alloy are not distributed randomly but are preferentially coupled with Hf solutes.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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