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Solute/Defect-Mediated Pathway For Rapid Nanoprecipitation In Solid Solutions: Γ Surface Analysis In Fcc Al-Ag, Daniel Finkenstadt, Duane D. Johnson

Duane D. Johnson

In face-centered-cubic (fcc) Al, stacking fault energy (SFE) is high at ca. 150mJ/m2, inhibiting stacking fault (SF) formation and dislocation motion. Yet Ag-rich hcp precipitates form rapidly in Al-rich fcc Al-Ag, even as the energy difference ΔEhcp−fcc between hcp and fcc homogeneous solid solution increases with Ag content. Using electronic density functional theory methods, we calculate the SFE γSF versus distance of Ag (111) planes from intrinsic (isf), extrinsic (esf) and twin (tsf) SFs. We find that an inhomogeneous distribution of Ag solute segregated in layers adjacent to SFs leads to favorable SFE, a manifestation of the well-known Suzuki effect. …