Transmission electron microscopy study of the early stage of precipitates in aged Al–Li–Cu alloys

We report here on the early stage of the precipitation behavior of aged Al–Li–Cu alloys using transmission electron microscopy. The δ′ phase (Al3Li, L12 structure (Structurbericht)) was found to exist in the as-quenched specimen containing 2.4 wt%-Li, whereas no precipitation was observed in the as-quenched specimen with 1.6 wt%-Li. After aging at 100 °C for 3 h, GP-I zones nucleated homogeneously in both specimens; but no δ′ phase was detected in the 1.6 wt%-Li alloy at that stage. As the aging proceeds, the δ′ phase nucleates and grows on the GP-I zones. The composite structure, in which the GP-I zone is flanked by a pair of lenticular δ′ particles, is stable in 180–200 °C. The facing lenticular δ′ particles on a GP-I zone were systematically found to be anti-phase with respect to each other.