Kinetic study of non-isothermal crystallization in Al₈₀Fe₁₀Ti₅Ni₅ metallic glass

Abstract

This study investigated the crystallization behavior of a kinetically metastable Al₈₀Fe₁₀Ti₅Ni₅ amorphous phase. The Al₈₀Fe₁₀Ti₅Ni₅ amorphous phase was synthesized via the mechanical alloying of elemental powders of Al, Fe, Ti, and Ni. The microstructures and crystallization kinetics of the as-milled and annealed powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transition electron microscopy, and non-isothermal differential thermal analysis techniques. The results demonstrated that an Al₈₀Fe₁₀Ti₅Ni₅ amorphous phase was obtained after 40 h of ball milling. The produced amorphous phase exhibited one-stage crystallization on heating, i.e., the amorphous phase transforms into nanocrystalline Al₁₃(Fe,Ni)₄ (40 nm) and Al₃Ti (10 nm) intermetallic phases. The activation energy for the crystallization of the alloy evaluated from the Kissinger equation was approximately 538±5 kJ/mol using the peak temperature of the exothermic reaction. The Avrami exponent or reaction order n indicates that the nucleation rate decreases with time and the crystallization is governed by a three-dimensional diffusion-controlled growth. These results provide new opportunities for structure control through innovative alloy design and processing techniques.