Influencing the crystallization of Fe80Nb10B10 metallic glass by ball milling

• Published in: Journal of alloys and compounds 2017-11, Vol.725, p.227-236
• Main Authors: Ramasamy, Parthiban, Shahid, Rub Nawaz, Scudino, Sergio, Eckert, Jürgen, Stoica, Mihai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amorphous materials; Ball milling; Composite materials; Composite powder; Consolidation; Crystal structure; Crystallinity; Crystallization; Curie temperature; Heating; High temperature; Magnetic properties; Magnetic saturation; Melt spinning; Nano-crystalline powders; Quenching (cooling); Ribbons; Saturation magnetization; Tapes (metallic)
• ISSN: 0925-8388; 1873-4669
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.07.160

Melt-spun amorphous Fe80Nb10B10 ribbons were subjected to ball milling for different periods. The results show that ball milling not only induces the formation of nano-crystalline α-Fe during milling, but also drastically changes the crystallization behavior of the residual amorphous phase. In contrast to the as-spun ribbon, which crystallizes during heating through the formation of the metastable Nb5Fe33B10 phase and subsequent decomposition into stable α-Fe and a small fraction of Fe2B and NbFeB, ball milling progressively suppresses the formation of Nb5Fe33B10 as primary crystallization product and promotes the formation of α-Fe at low temperatures. The ball-milled nano-crystalline/amorphous powders have a saturation magnetization 2.5–3 times higher than the as-quenched amorphous ribbon along with Curie temperature increase by about 70 K with respect to the parent as-spun material. The structure and related magnetic properties of the milled material do not significantly change in the bulk samples synthesized by powder consolidation at temperatures up to ∼900 K, which indicates that the stable nature of α-Fe makes this nano-crystalline/amorphous composite material potentially suitable for a wide range of high temperature applications. [Display omitted] •Ball milling induces the formation of deformation-induced nano-crystalline α-Fe.•Nano-crystalline/amorphous composite powders have excellent soft magnetic properties.•Formation of nano-crystalline α-Fe changes the crystallization behavior.•Curie temperature of nano-crystalline/amorphous composite material can be varied.•The nano-crystalline/amorphous composite material is stable up to 900 K.