Structure analyses of amorphous melt-spun FeZr(B, Si) alloys and mechanically alloyed FeZr powders

Abstract

Melt-spun amorphous zirconium-rich FeZr alloys with metalloid additions (B, Si) and mechanically alloyed amorphous FeZr powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The comparison of the radial distribution functions G(r) of ternary FeZr(B, Si) alloys with the data for binary FeZr glasses establishes the influence of boron and silicon additions on the structure of the amorphous state. Moreover, in (Fe 24Zr 76)-B alloys, an increasing boron content strongly influences the crystallization behaviour and leads to a stabilization of the glass. Whereas the G(r) of the as-prepared mechanically alloyed Fe 30Zr 70 powder is similar to that of corresponding melt-spun FeZr ribbons, a relaxation treatment at 150°C causes significant changes in G(r) of the Fe 30Zr 70 powder. The crystallization behaviour of this powder differs from that of zirconium-rich melt-spun FeZr ribbons; Zr 2Fe, a well-known metastable phase identified in the crystallization sequence of melt-quenched glasses, does not occur in the powder samples.