The influence of pressure on crystallisation of amorphous Zr 70Cu 30 alloy—I. Crystallisation temperature and the crystallisation phases

Abstract

The pressure dependence of the crystallisation temperature of amorphous Zr 70Cu 30 alloy and the variation of its crystallisation phases under high pressure annealing were investigated by electrical resistivity measurement and X-ray diffraction method. The results show that pressurising generally raises the crystalisation temperature, but slightly decreases it at the early stage of compression. Evident changes in crystallisation phase in the alloy were also observed under high pressure annealing. At atmosphere pressure, the crystallisation products are CuZr 2 with a modicum of α-Zr, while at a pressure of 2 GPa, the alloy crystallises into a mixture consisting of CuZr 2, Cu 10Zr 7 and an appreciable amount of α-Zr. The origin of these observations is discussed.