Effect of Cu and P on the Crystallization Behavior of Fe-Rich Hetero-Amorphous FeSiB Alloy

Abstract

The effect of simultaneously adding P and Cu on the crystallization behavior of hetero-amorphous FeSiB alloy was investigated. Thermal properties and microstructure evolution were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning, and isothermal calorimetric methods. It is found that the addition of P and Cu to the FeSiB alloy changes its crystallization temperature as well as the apparent activation energy for crystallization. The crystallization process is mainly dominated by three-dimensional growth with various nucleation rates for the selected FeSiB(PCu) alloys. The phases formed during crystallization for the different alloys of Fe₈₄Si₄B₁₂, Fe_83.3Si₄B₁₂Cu_0.7, and Fe_83.3Si₄B₈P₄Cu_0.7 are similar. The refinement effect of adding P and Cu to the FeSiB alloys is observed. The mean size of α-Fe phases decreases from 200 nm to about 20 nm.