Crystallization kinetics of Al86Ni8Gd6 amorphous alloy

We study structure and crystallization kinetics of melt-spun Al86Ni8Gd6 amorphous alloy. The X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy detect pronounced nanoscale clusters in the structure of the amorphous state. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis shows complex three-stage crystallization of the amorphous alloy at different heating rates. The high temperature X-ray diffraction analysis reveals crystallization mechanism with competing reactions of intermetallic compounds formation. Summarizing the experimental data, we introduce multiversion non-linear kinetic model that describes the crystallization process completely and allows us to determine kinetic parameters with high accuracy. The activation energies obtained reveal relatively stable amorphous state.