Atomic-Resolution EDS Characterization of Ordering in a β–Cu–Zn–Al Alloy
Abstract Atomic ordering in single-crystal β –Cu–Zn–Al, relevant to the martensitic transformation and functional properties, is investigated using analytical STEM. Atomic-resolution EDS along the [110] zone axis, where all Wyckoff positions are spatially resolved, reveals three chemically distinct site occupancies. Correlation with HAADF-STEM contrast provides real-space evidence consistent with L2 1 ordering. In agreement with experiments, first-principles calculations show a slight energetic preference for L2 1 over D0 3 , with finite-temperature free-energy calculations indicating that this preference persists at elevated temperatures.
Authors
- X. X. Chen
- Konstantina Iordanidou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4696-8204)
- Ole Martin Løvvik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4169-1544)
- Aleksander Larsen
- P.A. Carvalho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5447-0409)
- Yijiang Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6963-5755)
- Sandeep Gorantla (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5892-5270)
- Andreas Rosnes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0853-3493)
- Phuong D. Nguyen
- Anette E. Gunnæs
Institutions
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- SINTEF (NO)
- University of Oslo (NO)
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK)
- SINTEF Industry (NO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A
- Published
- 2026-01-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-025-08093-9
- Primary Topic
- Quasicrystal Structures and Properties
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Norges Forskningsråd