Observation of precipitation in Mg-Al alloys by ²⁵Mg and ²⁷Al NMR

A combination of ²⁵Mg and ²⁷Al NMR has been shown to be an effective structural probe for the intermetallic phase Mg₁₇Al₁₂, able to detect precipitation of this phase in dilute alloys of aluminium in magnesium during age hardening, with well-resolved signals from the precipitate and the alloy. Knight shift and spin-lattice relaxation measurements for the intermetallic phase are examined for evidence of a quasigap at the Fermi surface, recently proposed as the origin for the stability of this phase.