Orientation relationships between icosahedral clusters in hexagonal MgZn₂ and monoclinic Mg₄Zn₇ phases in Mg-Zn(-Y) alloys

Abstract

Intermetallic precipitates formed in heat-treated and aged Mg-Zn and Mg-Zn-Y alloys have been investigated via electron microscopy. Coarse spheroidal precipitates formed on deformation twin boundaries contained domains belonging to either the MgZn₂ hexagonal Laves phase or the monoclinic Mg₄Zn₇ phase. Both phases are structurally related to the quasi-crystalline phase formed in Mg-Zn-Y alloys, containing icosahedrally coordinated zinc atoms arranged as a series of broad rhombohedral units. This rhombohedral arrangement was also visible in intragranular precipitates where local regions with the structures of hexagonal MgZn₂ and Mg₄Zn₇ were found. The orientation adopted by the MgZn₂ and Mg₄Zn₇ phases in twin-boundary and intragranular precipitates was such that the icosahedral clusters were aligned similarly. These results highlight the close structural similarities between the precipitates of the Mg-Zn-Y alloy system.

Keywords:

• magnesium-zinc alloys
• icosahedral clusters
• orientation relationships
• interfaces
• hexagonal Laves phase
• complex metallic alloys

Acknowledgements

One of the authors (JMR) gratefully acknowledges the support of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through a JSPS fellowship. The authors also thank Reiko Komatsu, Keiko Sugimoto and Toshiyuki Murao for assistance with sample preparation.