Reactivity between CuxV2O5 and AgyV2O5 bronzes studied by spark plasma sintering

A method based on the analysis of reaction layers that form in CuxV2O5–AgyV2O5 interdiffusion couples annealed by spark plasma sintering to quickly explore the Cu–Ag–V2O5 ternary system at high pressure is presented. Through use of microanalysis profiling, the phases occurring in this system have been obtained much faster than by conventional techniques of solid-state chemistry. Microdiffraction profiling has also been used to properly identify the Cu0.5Ag0.5V2O5 phase in the reaction layer between CuV2O5 and Ag0.8V2O5. The stability domains of the phases have been approximately determined and interpreted. In most cases, reaction kinetics occurs quickly, as expected by the high diffusion coefficient of Cu and Ag in V2O5. Though the experiments have been carried out under high pressure (75 MPa), the same phases are obtained than with sealed quartz tubes experiments.