• Hot deformation increases quench sensitivity of 7085 alloy, as evidenced by the hardness difference between water quenching and air cooling rising from 5.4% to 10.4%.
• Recrystallization and subgrain structures with high dislocation density are induced by hot deformation, promoting heterogeneous precipitation during slow quenching.
• High-angle grain boundaries and non-coherent Al3Zr particles serve as primary nucleation sites for η and T phases, while high-dislocation-density subgrain boundaries also facilitate nucleation.
• A newly observed Y phase precipitates at dislocation sites within subgrains, providing additional insight into quench-induced precipitation mechanisms.