Abstract
We have experimentally studied the effect of a very slightly soluble metallic impurity (Fe) on the grain boundary (G.B.) segregation and diffusion of sulphur (S) in copper. Auger Electron Spectroscopy and radiochemical ( 35S) techniques have been used. A large increase in the segregation is observed and associated with a large decrease in the G.B. diffusion ( D gb ). These results are explained by FeS cosegregation which can be linked to FeS interactions which are stronger than CuS, as in the sulfides. In the low energy G.B., the segregated atoms can be randomly distributed, but in the higher energy G.B., they rather form a phase similar to a 2D compound; the number of boundaries concerned by this last situation increases when the iron level increases. All the results cannot be correctly explained without taking into account structural changes in the G.B. due to segregation or cosegregation.
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