Abstract
To study the melt structural evolution, at different temperatures, electrical resistivity evolution patterns with the time of Sn–Sb10 melt were experimentally investigated during isothermal processes. There was no change in resistivity during the isothermal process at 850°C for 360 min, while at higher temperatures, i.e. 875°C, 885°C, and 900°C, there was a dropping turn in the resistivity-time curves at different ranges. The higher the isothermal temperature, the earlier the dropping turn and the shorter the time range. As the resistivity resort was verified to be sensitive and valid for investigating liquid structure changes in past studies, the resistivity turn suggests the occurrence of a temperature-induced liquid structure transition. Based on the results, the kinetic mechanism of the liquid transition was also studied and the activation energies of the transition were calculated too.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos 50371024 and 50571033).