Journal of Materials Research and Technology (Sep 2023)

Effects of Sn addition on precipitation of Al–Zn–Mg alloy at early stage of natural aging

  • Yong-You Kim,
  • Daniel F.T. Rosenthal,
  • Dongwon Shin,
  • Hyeon-Woo Son,
  • Sang-Hwa Lee,
  • Young-Hee Cho,
  • David N. Seidman,
  • Kwangjun Euh

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26
pp. 697 – 702

Abstract

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The effect of Sn addition on the natural aging behavior of Al–Zn–Mg alloy was investigated using atom probe tomography (APT) experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results demonstrate that Sn retards the natural aging behavior by facilitating the preferential formation of Mg–Sn clusters, which suppress the formation of Guinier-Preston zones (I) during the earliest aging stage. Quantitative solute analysis conducted by APT has suggested increasing amount of Mg–Sn clusters in Sn-contained alloy due to their high binding energy, supported by DFT calculations on the Sn.

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