Crystal Structure and Morphology of Fine Particles of Vanadium Silicides

Abstract

In this experiment, fine particles of various vanadium silicides were made by the gas-evaporation technique. The structure and morphology of the particles were observed by electron microscope. The A15 structure was found to appear at 20.0 and 25.0 at.%Si, while the D8₈ and D8 _m structures appeared at 35.2 and 37.5 at.%Si. The particles were surrounded by crystallographic planes with low Miller's indices characteristic of each structure. At 30.0 and 32.7 at.%Si, two types of particle were observed; one containing the A15 and D8 _m structures and the other the A15 and D8₈ structures. In the respective particles, the lattice relationships (001)_A15//(001)D8 _m and [100]_A15//[100]D8 _m , and (001)_A15//(001)D8₈ and [110]_A15//[120]D8₈ , were found. These can be ascribed to the resemblance between the structures.