Influence of cross correlations on interdiffusion in Al-rich Al-Ni melts

The relation of self- and interdiffusion in a liquid metal, particularly the influence of cross correlations at low concentrations, is studied experimentally. Accurate interdiffusion data are obtained by a combination of x-ray radiography with the shear-cell method on the ground and on the sounding rocket MAPHEUS under microgravity conditions. Self-diffusion coefficients, measured by quasielastic neutron scattering, increase with decreasing Ni concentration, whereas interdiffusion coefficients are about constant. We show that cross correlations influence interdiffusion even at concentrations as low as 2 at. % Ni. Consequently, Darken's equation is not valid in this case.