P. Staron et al., NUCLEATION IN A NI-13 AT-PERCENT AL-ALLOY - POLARIZED NEUTRON-SCATTERING STUDIES AND CLUSTERDYNAMICS MODELING, Physica. B, Condensed matter, 234, 1997, pp. 989-991
The early stages of the decomposition reaction in an isotopically opti
mized Ni-58-13 at% Al alloy at T = 450 degrees C have been studied by
means of small- and wide-angle polarized neutron scattering (SWAPNS).
Number densities of extremely small Ni3Al clusters with diameters less
than 1 nm and the development of the cluster size distribution during
the earliest stages of decomposition have been determined. The observ
ed decomposition kinetics have been interpreted by means of cluster-dy
namics model calculations. No nucleation energy larger than kT was fou
nd to impede the decomposition reaction.