Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of an intermetallic CoSn phase

Herein, the crystallization kinetics of the intermetallic CoSn phase, nucleated and grown in the microstructure of a binary CoSn alloy, have been reported. Differential scanning calorimetry traces under non-isothermal conditions were obtained and used to extract the activation energy (E-alpha) for the crystallization of the CoSn phase at various heating rates. The obtained values of E-alpha were validated by the application of several isoconversion methods. The minimum value of E-alpha was 1000 kJ mol(-1), which occurred at 853K. The observed behavior of E-alpha showed a strong temperature dependence, wherein it decreased with increasing temperature. This suggests that the rate constant for the crystallization of the CoSn phase is determined by the rates of two processes-nucleation and diffusion. The precise description of the crystallization process for the CoSn phase reveal that the reaction mechanism of this phase is following the first-order reaction.