Formation mechanisms of Ni–Al intermetallics during heat treatment of Ni coating on 6061 Al substrate

The formation mechanisms and growth kinetics of Al3Ni and Al3Ni2 in Ni–Al diffusion couple prepared by electrodeposition of Ni on Al substrate were investigated. The nickel coating with 20 µm thickness was applied on 6061 aluminum alloy by direct current electroplating. The samples were then heat-treated for different durations at 450, 500 and 550 °C under argon atmosphere. The intermetallic phases were identified by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the formation of intermetallic phases consisted of two important steps. The first step was the lateral growth of intermetallic phase from separate sites, resulting in the formation of a continuous layer. The second step was the growth of the continuous intermetallic layer in the direction perpendicular to the interface. However, excessive increase in thickness of intermetallic phases led to the detachment of reaction products, i.e., Al3Ni and Al3Ni2, from the substrate. It was also observed that aluminum was the dominant diffusing element during Al3Ni growth, while nickel diffusion was dominant during Al3Ni2 growth. The growth kinetics of both Al3Ni and Al3Ni2 phases obeyed a parabolic law.