Ball milling of Fe83Zr6B10Cu1 amorphous alloy containing quenched in crystals

A Fe83B10Zr6Cu1 melt-spun amorphous alloy has been ball milled in the presence of partially crystalline ribbon pieces, in order to speed up its mechanical nanocrystallization process. Microstructure and magnetic properties of the resulting powder were studied as a function of the milling time. A continuous increase of the crystalline fraction of α-Fe was observed after pulverization of the sample. A linear increase of Cr contamination with the milling time (up to 1.5 at.% after 24 h) was measured. This element seems to be preferentially in the crystalline phase. Saturation magnetization and coercivity were also measured as a function of temperature. The temperature dependence of coercivity is similar to that found in soft magnetic nanocrystalline alloys.