Diffusion-induced grain boundary migration was studied in the Cu-Cd system by exposing polycrystalline Cu to Cd vapor. The temperature- and time-dependences of the rate of migration were measured at 340 to 480C. A parabolic migration behavior of the grain boundaries was observed. The diffusivity, Dbδ, was deduced from the growth rates, and v/Dbδ values were obtained from the concentration–distance profiles at each temperature. It was observed that the diffusion coefficients which were obtained experimentally during diffusion-induced grain boundary migration in this system were 8 to 10 orders of magnitude higher than the corresponding volume diffusion coefficient. The activation energy for solute transport corresponded to that required for boundary diffusion in the Cu-Cd system.

Diffusion Induced Grain Boundary Migration in the Cu-Cd System. B.K.Gupta, M.K.Madhuri, S.P.Gupta: Acta Materialia, 2003, 51[17], 4991-5000