Volume 51, Issue 5 pp. 1339-1351
research papers

Time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy on Al–Cu alloys – from solute copper to stable precipitates

Danny Petschke

Corresponding Author

Danny Petschke

Department of Chemistry, University Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 11, Wuerzburg, BavariaD-97070, Germany

Danny Petschke, e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
Frank Lotter

Frank Lotter

Department of Chemistry, University Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 11, Wuerzburg, BavariaD-97070, Germany

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Elischa Bläss

Elischa Bläss

Department of Chemistry, University Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 11, Wuerzburg, BavariaD-97070, Germany

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Torsten E. M. Staab

Torsten E. M. Staab

Department of Chemistry, University Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 11, Wuerzburg, BavariaD-97070, Germany

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First published: 10 September 2018

Abstract

Although binary aluminium alloys seem to be uninteresting and well known, some aspects of their precipitation sequence – especially the early stages immediately after quenching – are still not well understood. Since the Al–Cu system is the basis for many ternary and quaternary high-strength alloys with application in the aviation sector, it is important to understand this binary system in detail. This problem is here tackled by a unique combination of differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray absorption fine structure measurements, where relaxed atomic coordinates for simulation of the spectra have been obtained by ab initio calculations. Thereby, it is possible to attribute any exo- or endothermal peak to a certain type of precipitate, even though formation and dissolution regions have a large overlap in this system. This unique combination of experimental and numerical methods allows one to determine the local atomic environment around Cu atoms, thus following the formation and growth of Guinier–Preston zones, i.e. Cu platelets on {100} planes, during the precipitation process.

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