Phase Equilibria in the Ni-Sn-Zn System at 500°C

The isothermal section of the Ni-Sn-Zn ternary system at 500°C was investigated by means of x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS). A new ternary compound with a composition of Ni36Sn42Zn22 (in at.%) was discovered in the present study. The space group of this compound is P\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$ \overline{\textit{4}}$$\end{document}3m with lattice parameter a = 0.88283(4) nm. Two ternary phases, i.e., τ1 and τ2, which are derived from α′-Ni3Sn2 and β-NiZn, respectively, were observed to be present at 500°C. The solubility of Sn in Ni2Zn11 was determined to be about 3.5 at.%, and that of Zn in Ni3Sn to be about 5 at.%.