Experimental investigation and thermodynamic calculations of the Ni–Sb–Zn phase diagram

Phase diagram of the ternary Ni–Sb–Zn system was investigated experimentally by DSC and SEM-EDS methods and theoretically by the CALPHAD method. The liquidus projection, invariant equilibria, several vertical sections and isothermal sections at 600 °C and 25 °C were predicted using COST MP0602 thermodynamic database. Phase transition temperatures of alloys along three predicted vertical sections of the Ni–Sb–Zn ternary system with molar ratio x(Ni):x(Zn) = 1, x(Ni):x(Sb) = 1 and x(Ni) = 0.2, were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Predicted isothermal sections at 600 °C and 25 °C were compared with the results of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis from this work.

► Review of reported literature. ► Calculated constitutive binary systems. ► Experimentally determined phase transformation temperatures. ► Calculation of several vertical and two horizontal sections, verified by SEM-EDS. ► Determined invariant reaction in Ni–Sb–Zn system.