A study of alloying behaviour in the Ti–Al–V system Original Research Article

High-energy and conventional X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with Cr Kβ (hν=5946.7 eV) and Al Kα (hν=1486.6 eV) radiation, respectively, were used to calculate the Auger parameters of Al, Ti and V in the Ti–Al (Al=10, 20, 30 at%), Ti–35 at% Al–15 at% V, Ti–40 at% Al–20 at% V, Ti–25 at% Al–25 at% V and Ti–50 at% V alloys. The shifts of the Auger parameters of the elements between unalloyed and alloyed conditions were used to explain electronic changes occurring upon alloying and were related to the thermodynamics and the microstructures of the alloys. The large negative shift of the Al Auger parameter indicated that Al atoms are better screened in the pure metal environment than in the alloys. This shift was also related to ordering in the Ti–Al and Ti–Al–V alloys. The Auger parameter differences of the transition metals were small and either within or very close to the experimental error, which is in agreement with previous studies.