Crystallization evolution behavior of amorphous Fe85.7Si7.9B3.6Cr2C0.8 powder produced by a novel atomization process

Abstract

Fe-Si-B amorphous alloy has the advantages of excellent soft magnetic properties, low magnetic loss, stable DC bias performance and strong corrosion resistance, etc. It is one of the commonly used raw materials for high-end electronic and electrical components. In this study, the thermodynamics and kinetics of the crystallization transition of high magnetic induction amorphous powder Fe85.7Si7.9B3.6Cr2C0.8 produced by a novel atomization process were investigated experimentally under non-isothermal and isothermal conditions based on DSC and XRD. The results show that the high Si contents in the amorphous composition and the eutectic reaction during initial crystallization stage lead to a structural transition between the ordered Fe-Si phases A2(α-Fe(Si)), B2(FeSi) and DO3(Fe3Si), thus resulting in the third exothermic peak of crystallization in the DSC curve of this system. In addition, the first exothermic peak of crystallization corresponding to the eutectic reaction is analyzed in detail in this paper. The crystallization process of the amorphous material is as follows: (a) Amorphous; (b) Amorphous+Fe3B+α-Fe(Si)+Fe3Si+Fe5Si3+FeSi; (c) Amorphous+ Fe3B+Fe2B+α-Fe(Si)+Fe3Si+Fe5Si3+FeSi; (d) Fe2B+α-Fe(Si)+Fe3Si+Fe5Si3+FeSi; (e) Fe2B+α-Fe(Si)+Fe3Si+Fe5Si3. And the undercooled liquid region of the amorphous powder is 52 K, the activation energy of glass transition is 396.73 kJ·mol−1, the activation energy of the first crystallization peak is 292.64 kJ·mol−1, and the fragility value is 27 belongs to strong metallic glass system. It also suggests that the amorphous materials have good thermal stability and glass forming ability (GFA).