Cascade of Peritectic Reactions in the B-Fe-U System

The solidification paths for UFeB4, UFe3B2 and UFe4B, ternary compounds, situated along the U:(Fe,B) = 1:5 line in the B-Fe-U phase diagram, are proposed based on x-ray powder diffraction measurements, differential thermal analysis, heating curves and scanning electron microscopy observations complemented with energy and wavelength dispersive x-ray spectroscopies. The compounds melt incongruently and are formed by peritectic reactions. The present work demonstrates the existence of a cascade of peritectic reactions along the U:(Fe,B) = 1:5 composition line, establishes peritectic temperatures and proposes an isopleth diagram along this line.