On the atomic interdiffusion in Mg–{Ce, Nd, Zn} and Zn–{Ce, Nd} binary systems

Binary interdiffusion data as function of composition in the Mg–{Ce, Nd, Zn} and Zn–{Ce, Nd} systems were obtained experimentally using solid–solid diffusion couples. For the studied systems, all intermetallic compounds were produced, based on the equilibrium phase diagrams, eliminating the problem of missing compounds in the diffusion couples found in the literature. The composition profiles were obtained using wavelength dispersive spectroscopy line-scans across diffusion couples. The composition-dependent diffusion coefficient at each interface was determined using Boltzmann–Matano analysis. For the available literature data for some of the compounds in the Mg–{Ce, Nd, Zn} systems, the calculated interdiffusion coefficients were in good agreement. No diffusion data regarding Zn–{Ce, Nd} systems could be found in the literature. The activation energy and the preexponential factor of the growth of the Mg–{Ce, Nd, Zn} compounds were determined using Arrhenius equation. The activation energies of the growth of the Mg–Ce compounds showed relatively higher values than those of Mg–Nd and Mg–Zn compounds.