Experimental investigation and thermodynamic prediction of the Bi–Sb–Zn phase diagram

Phase diagram of the ternary Bi–Sb–Zn system was investigated experimentally by DTA and SEM-EDS methods and analytically by CALPHAD method. The liquidus projection, invariant equilibria, several vertical sections and isothermal section at 300 °C were predicted using COST 531 thermodynamic database. Phase transition temperatures of alloys along three predicted vertical sections of the Bi–Sb–Zn ternary system with molar ratio Bi:Sb = 1, Bi:Zn = 1 and Sb:Zn = 1, were measured by differential thermal analysis (DTA). Predicted isothermal section at 300 °C was compared with the results of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) analysis from this work.