Nanocomposite formation in Zr-Al-Cu-Ni-Fe amorphous alloys by mechanically assisted nitridation.

M. A. BAB; L. C. DAMONTE; L. A. MENDOZA-ZELIS

AIP CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

AIP

Año: 2005 vol. 765 p. 344 - 347

0094-243X

Zr-Al-Cu-Ni-Fe belongs to the best glass forming systems known. These glasses present a high thermal stability and are suitable as precursor material for nanocomposites containing a variety of particles. At this respect, the presence of a second phase embedded in the amorphous matrix improves their mechanical properties. Ball milling has already demonstrated to be a valuable processing route for producing amorphous matrix nanocomposites, allowing to by pass most of the limitations inherent to the casting techniques. In this work we present results on the formation, structure and thermal stability of nanocrystalline nitride particles dispersed in a Zr-Cu-Al-Ni-Fe amorphous matrix. The nitride particles were obtained by high-energy ball milling of Zr64Al7Cu17Ni10Fe2 amorphous ribbons in nitrogen atmosphere. The resulting nanocomposite structure was studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. Their thermal behavior was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, showing an increase in the thermal stability of the amorphous matrix by the composite formation.