Experimental investigation and thermodynamic prediction of the Ag-Ge-Sb phase diagram

Phase diagram of the Ag-Ge-Sb ternary system has been investigated experimentally and extrapolated using optimized thermodynamic parameters for the constitutive binary systems. Experimental results obtained using differential thermal analysis (DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) methods were compared with predicted phase equilibria. Identification of coexisting phases in the chosen as-cast samples and samples annealed at 400 degrees C was performed using SEM-EDS and XRD methods. Liquidus temperatures for selected samples with overall compositions along three vertical sections Ag-Ge0.5Sb0.5, Ge-Ag0.5Sb0.5 and Sb-Ge0.5Ag0.5 were measured by DTA. Ternary eutectic reaction was experimentally determined by means of applied experimental techniques. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.