Effect of plastic deformation, heat treatment and electron irradiation on structural-phase state of Cu – 40 аt. % Pd alloy

Abstract

Effect of plastic deformation, heat treatment, and electron irradiation on the structural-phase state of Cu – 40 at. % Pd is studied. X-ray phase analysis of initial samples, samples obtained by rolling up to 0.2 mm, samples annealed after rolling in an argon atmosphere at 950 °C for 1 h, and samples irradiated by high-energy electron in air at temperature of 300 °C was carried out. A change in the phase composition of the samples after rolling was found: ~ 6 % of the ordered β-phase with bcc structure was formed, which disappears after annealing. As a result of irradiation, a layer of copper oxide CuO formed on the surface of the alloy, which under normal thermal conditions is formed at a temperatures of 400 – 500 °C, and the reflections of the ordered β-phase also disappeared in the near-surface layer. The elemental composition of the alloy changed in depth from the irradiated metal surface. Phases with a low degree of long-range order and an increased content of palladium were formed. The presence of these phases is due mainly to the selective oxidation of copper.