Structural disordering in Sn-Pb(Bi) eutectic melts induced by heating

The structure of liquid Sn0.739Pb0.261 and Sn0.57Bi0.43 eutectic alloys was studied by means of X-ray diffraction at several temperatures. Structure factors, pair correlation functions and the main structural parameters obtained on their basis were analyzed. We show that the structure of the Sn0.739Pb0.261 and Sn0.57Bi0.43 eutectic alloys is inhomogeneous and consists of different types of clusters. Upon heating the cluster structure undergoes topological and chemical disordering showing a significant dependence of structural parameters on temperature near the melting point.