X-ray diffraction study of the phase purity, order and texture of ductile B2 intermetallics

Representatives (AgY, CuY, AgEr, CuDy, MgY and MgCe) of the newly discovered family of ductile stoichiometric B2 intermetallic (metal–rare-earth element, MR) compounds were characterized by X-ray diffraction, to determine if their anomalous ductility is related to an exceptional level of phase purity, lack of chemical ordering or a strong crystallographic texture. Brittle NiAl served as an anti-type in this study. We found that all of the rare-earth compounds, except MgY, have a significant volume fraction (∼5–20 vol.%) of second phases (M2R intermetallics and R2O3 oxides), which has not been reported in previous studies of these materials. The most ductile of observed MR compounds, AgY, is highly ordered. A moderate texture was observed in AgY, which may explain its higher ductility (using polycrystal modeling) as compared to other MR compounds. However, the intrinsic polycrystalline ductility of these compounds in the randomly textured state (like that observed in CuY) still has no specific, definitive explanation.