Study of an internally-oxidized Pd0.97Ce0.03 alloy

Cold-worked samples of a Pd0.97Ce0.03 alloy in the form of foils were submitted to an internal oxidization heat treatment at 1073 K for 72 h. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the precipitation of acicular CeO2 with a cubic lattice parameter of 5.4 Å. This precipitate exhibited preferential growth directions relative to the Pd matrix which correspond to the diagonal of the Pd cube. The needle-shaped precipitates were about 20–40 nm wide and 1–2 μm long, in coherence with the Pd matrix.