A Structural Investigation of Non-Crystalline Nickel-Phosphorus Alloys

摘要

The structure of non-crystalline electrodeposited Ni-P alloys, 73.8 - 81.4 at. % Ni, has been investigated by x ray scattering and by physical density measurements. Calculated radial distribution functions, RDF(r), indicate that the alloys have a better defined short-range order than that observed in liquid noble metals above their melting points. The non-crystalline alloys are between 0.6% and 1/4% less dense than the corresponding mixtures of fcc Ni and Ni3P, both of which are essentially close-packed. A grain boundary density deficit model has been developed which relates the fractional density difference between the microcrystalline and macrocrystalline forms of a close-packed metal to the minimum average microcrystal grain size. The high densities of the non-crystalline Ni-P alloys suggest that the alloys have a continuous structure rather than one in which internal boundaries separate small, well-ordered regions. (Author)