Preparation of AlRu intermetallic compounds by mechanical alloying

The formation of Al6Ru intermetallic compounds using high-energy ball milling was investigated. High-purity Al and Ru crystalline powders, in the relative (molar) ratio of 6:1, were milled for periods up to 30 h. Samples of the milled materials were annealed at different times and temperatures. The microstructures of the annealed samples were compared to those of the as-milled samples. It was found that the obtained alloys have compositions that are in accord with the Al–Ru phase diagram. However, the X-ray analysis of a 10 h milled sample, annealed at 873 K for 30 min, showed evidence of the formation of a quasicrystalline icosahedral alloy mixed with the crystalline Al6Ru. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the microstructures are similar to those obtained by other sample preparation techniques.