X-ray and differential scanning calorimetry study of the crystallization of amorphous Fe 73.5 Cu 1Nb 3 Si 13.5B 9 alloy

Abstract

The crystallization behaviour, the lattice parameters of the crystallized phase and the crystallization kinetics of amorphous Fe 73.5Cu 1Nb 3Si 13.5B 9 alloy were investigated by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. When the alloy was annealed at above 480°C for 1 h, nanocrystalline Fe(Si) phase precipitated from the amorphous matrix. As the annealing temperature rose, the lattice parameter a 0 of the Fe(Si) phase increased from 0.2838 nm to 0.2849 nm. At 600°C tetragonal Fe 3B precipitated, and at 670°C f.c.c. Fe 23B 6. After pre-annealing above 400°C, the crystallization activation energy was raised significantly from 384 kJ Mol −1 to 494 kJ mol −1. During isothermal annealing the crystallization activation energy dropped from 520 kJ mol −1 to 360 kJ mol −1 as the annealing continued, while it increased appreciably with pre-annealing.