Energy-dispersive XRS in transmission electron microscope unveils mysteries of solid-liquid system

For many years, the simultaneous mapping of phases and chemical compositions subjected to extreme conditions has been one of biggest challenges in materials science. Professor J. M. Howe (Virginia University, USA) and his colleagues have reported the successful study of partially molten Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloy particles, for automobile and aerospace applications, during in situ heating by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in a transmission electron microscope. They have discovered some significant results, for instance, Al and Si concentrations change in a complementary and symmetric manner about the solid-liquid interface as a function of temperature. They also obtained direct evidence for homogeneous nucleation of the Al-rich solid. For more information, see the paper, "In Situ Determination of the Nanoscale Chemistry and Behavior of Solid-Liquid Systems", S. K. Eswaramoorthy et al., Science, 318, 1437-1440 (2007).