Microstructural evolution and amorphous phase formation of Fe42Ni28Zr8Ta2B10C10 alloy produced by mechanical alloying

In this study, the microstructural evolution and amorphous phase formation of Fe42Ni28Zr8Ta2B10C10 alloy produced by mechanical alloying (MA) were investigated. This alloy is a soft magnetic material with better magnetic properties in its amorphous condition. Effects of milling time on the phase transformation, microstructure, morphological evolution and thermal behavior were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results showed that at the early stage of milling, the powder contained a nanocrystalline α-Fe solid solution. Further milling decreased the crystallite size of this phase and finally the amorphous phase was produced. The amount of the amorphous phase was calculated using Rietveld methods and W powder as the internal standard and the results showed that the quantity of this phase reached about 95% after 154 h of milling