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The phase diagram of the Al-Cu binary system was reinvestigated experimentally. The current study was designed to contribute to a better description of those parts of the phase diagram which are disputed in the current scientific literature, and in addition, to study the phase equilibria at 300°C. The melting behavior of the h-phase was confirmed to be peritectic. A metastable congruent solidification of the h-phase was observed from the microstructural examination of as-cast samples. The location of the liquidus curve in this region of the phase diagram was more accurately defined using DSC measurements taken at slow-heating rates (1°C min À1). The temperature stability of the f-phase was reevaluated and was found to lie in the range 373-597°C. The phase boundaries of the c¢ + e¢ two-phase field were experimentally defined. Difficulties in defining the c¢/d transition were addressed by a combined EDX/XRD investigation of more than ten samples that had been annealed in the temperature range of 500 to 750°C. The (c¢ + d) two-phase field was postulated from XRD studies of quenched samples. The temperature of the ordering reaction c M c¢ within the c(c¢) + b phase field was experimentally determined to be 779.6°C. All other parts of the Al-Cu phase diagram studied here were found to be in very good agreement with the most recent previous descriptions.

The Ag-Cu bimetallic colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by solvothermal synthesis from metalloorganic precursors in a mixture of organic solvents. The nanoparticles were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The properties of metallic core and organic shell of the nanoparticles were studied by direct inlet probe mass spectrometry (DIP/MS), Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry (KEMS), double-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (DPLIBS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for particle characterization before and after thermal analysis. The experiment yielded results that were for AgCu nanoparticles for the first time. The detected liquidus temperature has been compared with the prediction obtained from calculation of the phase diagram of Ag-Cu nanoalloy. The experimental results show that of near-eutectic composition AgCu nanoparticles possess the fcc crystal lattice. Surprisingly, spinodal decomposition was not observed inside the AgCu nanoparticles at temperatures up to 230°C. The depression of the eutectic AgCu melting point was calculated but not observed. The eutectic AgCu microparticles are formed before melting.