Caracterización microestructural del compuesto intermetálico Al₇Cu₄Ni

A study of the microstructural characterization of the intermetallic compound Al₇Cu₄Ni was carried out. The intermetallic compound was fabricated using the melting and casting process followed by a homogenization treatment at 750°C for 240 h. The structural evolution during homogenizing was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, The microstructure of intermetallic compound was also characterized by scanning electron and transmission electron microscopies. Additionally, the microhomogeneity of this compound was studied by the Energy Dispersive and Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy. The results of this work showed that it was possible to obtain the intermetallic compound with the crystalline structure and at the composition reported in the literature. Besides, this compound showed a good chemical microhomogeneity, which makes it a possible candidate as a material reference for either microanalysis or hardness testing.