KINETICS OF DECOMPOSITION IN COPPER-COBALT - A TIME-RESOLVED ASAXS STUDY

The decomposition kinetics of dilute Cu-Co alloys containing 0.5 at.% Co were investigated by time-resolved anomalous small-angle X-ray scat tering (ASAXS). No evidence for the existence of compositional fluctua tions preceding the formation of Co precipitates was found. The separa ted scattering curves of the Co precipitates show 'self-similarity'. T he results are interpreted in terms of a classical process of decompos ition and values of 0.18 J m(-2) for the interfacial energy and 10.9 A ngstrom for the critical radius are calculated.