Study of the solute clusters/enrichment at early stage of ageing in Mg-Zn-Gd alloys by atom probe tomography

The chemical enrichment/ordering of solute atoms in Mg matrix are crucial to understand the formation mechanism of long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) structures. In this study, three-dimensional distribution of solute elements in an Mg-Zn-Gd alloy during ageing process is quantitatively characterized by three-dimensional atom probe (3DAP) tomography. Based on the radius distribution function, it is found that Zn-Gd solute pairs in Mg matrix appear mainly in two peaks at early stage of ageing and the separation distance between Zn and Gd atoms is well rationalized by the first-principles calculation. Moreover, the fraction of Zn-Gd solute pairs increases first and decreases subsequently due to the precipitation of LPSO structures. Moreover, the composition of structural unit in LPSO structure and the solute enrichment around it are quantified. It is found that Zn and Gd elements are synchronized in the LPSO structure, and solute segregation of pure Zn or Gd is not observed at the transformation front of the LPSO structure in this alloy. In addition, the crystallography of transformation front is further determined by 3DAP data.