Abstract
The process of temper embrittlement provoked by impurity (P, S) segregation in a high alloy Cr, Ni steel is studied by means of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and ionization loss spectroscopy (ILS). In some cases the studies are similarly realized on vacuum fracture surfaces and on free surfaces after the same heat treatment. Identical results are observed. This supports the assumption that boundary and free surface segregation are equivalent. Chemical shifts observed on free surfaces by ILS in the 3s and 3p levels of all metallic components indicate the strongest interaction between Ni and P after a heat treatment which also caused a maximum of intergranular fracture. AES fine structure, interpreted as interatomic transitions, also indicate a strong Ni-P interaction. Reduction of boundary cohesion, the origin for the embrittlement, is discussed on the basis of weak 3d-3p valence orbital overlapping as expected from metal-impurity interactions.
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