Effect of a High Magnetic Field on Crystal Growth in the Solidification of Hypoperitectic Zn–Ag Alloy

Abstract

Hypoperitectic Zn–Ag alloy was solidified under various high magnetic fields (HMFs) to investigate the crystal growth. The results show that without the HMFs the randomly aligned primary ε-AgZn3 dendrites vary in morphology, size, and distribution in the whole specimen. With increasing HMFs, the macrostructural inhomogeneity regarding the primary ε-AgZn3 dendrites gradually decreases and eventually disappears. Meanwhile, the primary ε-AgZn3 dendrites tend to align regularly, i.e., with the two orthogonal principal axes parallel and perpendicular to the HMF direction. Under a 12 T HMF, strong ⟨0001⟩AgZn 3 fiber and {0001}Zn basal textures are developed. Also, the primary ε-AgZn3 dendrites grow preferentially along the ⟨100⟩ and ⟨0001⟩ directions and display various 3D shapes with strong anisotropy. Moreover, irrespective of the HMFs, the Ag content in the η-Zn solid solution gradually decreases outward from the central ε-AgZn3 dendrite, causing microsegregation. Additionally, a specific crystallographic orientation relationship (OR) of [2]AgZn 3 //[20]Zn, (01)AgZn 3 //(101)Zn, (100)AgZn 3 //(0002)Zn exists between the primary ε-AgZn3 and peritectic η-Zn phases. The elimination of the macrostructural inhomogeneity originates from the HMF-induced magnetic viscosity resistance force. The ⟨0001⟩AgZn 3 fiber and {0001}Zn basal textures are attributed to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the ε-AgZn3 crystals and the specific OR, respectively.

Microgravity-like Crystallization of Paramagnetic Species in Strong Magnetic Fields

“…The majority of investigations have focused on the crystal growth in a magnetic field dedicated to diamagnetic crystals [15,16], including protein crystals [17,18]. For paramagnetic compounds, some rare studies have been carried out on their solutions [19][20][21], and in some cases, they have been used as crystallization agents [22,23].…”