Study the influence of plastic deformation aging pre-treatment on dynamic vacancy behavior in Sn65Sb20Cu15 alloy using positron annihilation

Dense, monolithic Sn-Sb-Cu samples with a nominal composition of Sn65Sb20Cu15 were produced by standard powder metallurgical techniques with a crystallite size of approximately 100 nm. The samples have been deformed by high-temperature creep between 325 and 450 °C in steps of 25 °C under constant stress (17.5 MPa). After deformation, positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) has been studied to investigate the dynamic behavior of vacancy cluster like-nanoparticles phase in Sn65Sb20Cu15 alloy aging at room temperature (RT) in details. An irregular behavior in the PAL curves was exhibited only of T = 425 °C, and the resultant microstructures have been examined by XRD and TEM methods. The results support the idea that most positrons annihilate at structural of vacancy cluster. Electrical resistivity and enthalpy activation volume confirmed the lifetime results.