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Atomic structure of pre‐Guinier–Preston zones in Al alloys
Author(s) -
Staab T. E. M.,
Haaks M.,
Zamponi C.,
Modrow H.,
Maier K.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.200701090
Subject(s) - xanes , copper , x ray absorption spectroscopy , scattering , quenching (fluorescence) , spectral line , aluminium , ab initio , materials science , alloy , k edge , extended x ray absorption fine structure , atom (system on chip) , x ray absorption fine structure , crystallography , absorption spectroscopy , atomic physics , chemistry , spectroscopy , metallurgy , optics , physics , organic chemistry , astronomy , computer science , fluorescence , quantum mechanics , embedded system
We propose X‐ray absorption (XAS) measurements as a novel approach to determine the atomic structure of pre‐Guinier–Preston zones. These nano‐clusters are formed during very early stages of aging AlCu alloys, immediately after solution heat treatment and quenching. X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) spectra were taken from technical aluminum alloys at the copper K edge, revealing the local atomic environment of copper. The spectra of – after solution heat treatment – freshly quenched and of artificially aged alloys differ significantly from each other. We compare the measured XANES spectra with those calculated by the FEFF‐8 code. We show the importance of employing realistic, i.e. relaxed, atomic coordinates around the scattering atom type from ab‐initio calculations with SIESTA. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)