Abstract :
The nature of chromium rich carbides which precipitate at grain boundaries in steels is still not perfectly understood. We
performed a multitechnique approach on model chromium carbide and chromium–iron carbide samples: Auger Electron
Spectroscopy AES., X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy XPS., X-ray Diffraction XRD., and High Energy Electron
Diffraction HEED.were used to characterise the samples. Significant chemical shifts were observed for the Cr, Fe and C
XPS peaks in the M7C3 compound M stands for metal., indicating unambiguously that the compound formed is a mixed
iron–chromium carbide. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
