Phase Relationships in the Zn-Rich Corner of the Zn-Fe-Zr System

The phase relationships in the Zn-rich corner of the Zn-Fe-Zr system at 450, 600 and 800 A degrees C were investigated by means of x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy/wave dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS/WDS). Two ternary compounds were found in the system. One of them was designated as ZrFe(2)Zn(20) according its narrow composition range. It is a CeCr(2)Al(20)-type compound with lattice parameter a = 1.3941 nm. ZrFe(2)Zn(20) is stable below 878.6 A degrees C and can co-exist with all binary compounds in the Zn rich corner of the system. The other one was designated as Zr(2)Fe(3)Zn(5). SEM-WDS analysis indicated that Fe was hardly detected in ZrZn(22), Zr(5)Zn(39) and ZrZn(3). And no Zr was dissolved in all Fe-Zn intermetallic compounds.