On the formation of antiphase boundaries in Fe4Al13 intermetallics during a high temperature treatment

Abstract

In this paper, we report atomic scale observations and formation mechanisms of a high-density of antiphase boundaries (APBs) within an ultra-fine-grained Fe4Al13 intermetallic layer at an Al/steel interface after a heat treatment at 596 °C. The results reveal that the APBs are formed by nucleation and the glide of partial dislocations with Burgers vector of b/3[010] (b = 12.47 Å). The intensive activation of APBs locally transforms the Fe4Al13 structure from the quasicrystal approximant structure to a quasicrystal. Very few stacking faults and nanotwins are observed indicating that the formation of planar defects is mainly driven by this transformation. This new insight on the formation of high density of APBs could possibly lead to an improvement in toughness by increasing the strength/ductility balance of this intermetallic.