Experimental and thermodynamic assessment of the Ce–Zr system

•The Ce–Zr phase diagram is experimentally assessed.•in situ XRD was combined with levitation to study liquid phase equilibria.•The monotectic Ce–Zr phase diagram reported in data base is wrong.•The Ce–Zr is a eutectic system, like Nd–Zr and Gd–Zr.•A consistent thermodynamic description of the Ce–Zr system is derived.

The phase equilibria of the binary Ce–Zr system have been investigated between 900 K and 1800 K by a combining conical nozzle levitation technique with in situ high energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction. From the diffraction data the phase sequences and the liquidus line were determined experimentally. The Ce–Zr system is an eutectic type. The eutectic reaction L↔bcc-Ce+hcp-Zr occurs at T=1113±5 K at the eutectic composition of 1.5±1 at% Zr. Based on the experimental data a self-consistent thermodynamic description of Ce–Zr phase diagram is derived.

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