Nucleation and growth of nano-crystallites in a new multicomponent Fe-based BMG during the partial crystallization process

Abstract

In this study, the non-isothermal kinetic of nucleation and growth of nano-crystallites in [(Fe0.9Ni0.1)77Mo5P9C7.5B1.5]100-0.1Cu0.1 (at %) BMG was systematically investigated. The crystallization process in the BMG occurred in four stages. The KAS, Augis–Bennett, and Gao–Wang methods were used to determine activation energies of all four crystallization stages. Also, to investigate the mechanism of nucleation and growth phenomena, which occurred during the crystallization process, other kinetic parameters including n, Kp, and m were determined using Augis–Bennett, Gao–Wang, and Matusita methods. Also, the JMAK method, as an accurate isokinetic method, was used to confirm the results obtained by other methods. The research findings revealed that the growth mechanisms of all crystallization stages were controlled by the interface. Moreover, the values of n and b parameters were increased in the fourth crystallization stage; indicating an increase in nucleation rate in this stage.