Atomic transport properties and liquid–liquid phase separation of Zn_xBi 1−x liquid monotectic alloys

Abstract

Atomic transport properties specifically the shear viscosity and the diffusion coefficient for Zn$_{x}$Bi$_{1-x}$ liquid monotectic segregating alloys are theoretically investigated by using the Rice-Allnatt theory. The essential ingredient for the microscopic description of the metals and their alloys is the interionic interaction which in the present work is described by a widely used local pseudopotential. The temperature dependent behaviour of the above mentioned physical properties is also examined. The overall agreement of our calculated results with the available experimental data is found to be good for the full range of concentration. More interestingly, the temperature dependent results for the viscosity and the diffusion coefficient apparently exhibit a signature of liquid-liquid phase separation through a sudden bending in their concentration dependent profiles. Onset of this bending also provides information about the critical temperature and the critical concentration, and also provides a value for the critical exponent of liquid-liquid phase separation.