Investigation of phase transformations in Cu1.8S-Cu2S thin films by kinematic electron diffraction

The phase transformations of the compounds Cu_1.8S-Cu₂S have been investigated. All the changes in the sample due to a thermal treatment up to 300°C were continuously photographed by the kinematic electron diffraction method. It was shown that, depending on experiment conditions, the low-temperature ordered phase of digenite Cu_Z-XS transforms completely or partly into the hexagonal modification of chalcocite Cu₂S, which becomes ordered in its low-temperature orthorhombic modification. At temperatures from room to 100°C the orthorhombic chalcocite coexists with the low-temperature digenite, in a range from 100°C to 300°C the high-temperature hexagonal chalcocite coexists with the low-temperature digenite and at 300°C the sample contains a mixture of the hexagonal chalcocite and the f.c.c.-phase of digenite. Djurleite and other phases with intermediate compositions are not observed in these experiments.