Amorphization and solid solution formation in Sn modified Cu-Ag alloys produced by mall milling

The present work aims at studying the influence of Sn on the microstructure of Cu-Ag-based supersaturated solid solutions with potential application for fabrication of nanoporous structures. Nanocrystalline Cu 50 Ag 50-x Sn x (x=3, 6, 10) fcc solid solutions are synthesized by high-energy ball milling under protective Ar atmosphere and liquid heptane as antisticking agent. Milling for 8h leads to formation of solid solution with fine nanocrystalline microstructure (<10-15 nm) in Cu 50 Ag 40 Sn 10 . On the contrary, for the ternary systems with lower Sn concentration (x=3 and 6) only 5h of milling are necessary for complete alloying. Partial amorphization is also detected for all Sn containing alloys. The lattice constant of the fcc solid solution in the ternary systems is larger than that of Cu 50 Ag 50 , but slightly depends on the Sn concentration in the composition range of 3-10 at.% Sn