Nature of the interfaces between the constituent phases in the high entropy alloy CoCrCuFeNiAl

The interfaces between the phase separated regions in the dendritic grains of laser-deposited samples of the high entropy alloy CoCrCuFeNiAl have been studied using aberration-corrected analytical (scanning) transmission electron microscopy ((S)TEM). The compositional variations have been determined using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) in (S)TEM. It was found that between B2, consisting mainly of Al, Ni, Co, and Fe, and disordered bcc phase, consisting mainly of Cr and Fe, there is a transition region, approximately 1.5 nm in width, over which the chemical composition changes from the B2 to that of the bcc phase. The crystal structure of this interfacial region is also B2, but with very different sublattice occupancy than that of the adjacent B2 compound. The structural aspects of the interface between the ordered B2 phase and the disordered bcc phase have been characterized using high angle annular dark-field (HAADF) imaging in STEM. It has been determined that the interfaces are essentially coherent, with the lattice parameters of the two B2 regions and the disordered bcc phase being more or less the same, the uncertainty arising from possible relaxations from the proximity of the surfaces of the thin foils used in imaging of the microstructures. Direct observations show that there is a planar continuity between all three constituent phases.