Abstract
Gas-atomized nickel silicide powders alloyed with vanadium were studied using electron microscopy. SEM images reveal defects such as helmets and satellites, and structures both on the surface and on the cross-section. TEM methods such as EDS and SPED were used to study this further, and we were able to identify stripes with thicknesses of around 100 nm of alternating nickel silicide and nickel solution with vanadium. Nickel is shown to have a slightly increased lattice parameter with increasing amount of vanadium, which might make it a better lattice match with the nickel silicide phase and could explain the improved ductility of the material when alloyed with vanadium. Further work includes obtaining a deeper understanding of the variations in the nickel silicide phase along the stripes and what effect this has on the properties, as well as the orientation relationships between the two phases.