Effects of oxide phases on thermomagnetisation of mechanically alloyed amorphous Fe–(Co, Ni)–Zr–B powder

Multicomponent (Fe, Co, Ni)70Zr10B20 amorphous alloy powders have been made from a mixture of elemental and alloy powders using mechanical alloying (MA) process. It has been found that partial oxidation of oxygen-sensitive elements (e.g. B and Zr) had occurred during MA and the post annealing process. The influence of oxides on the thermomagnetic behaviour of MA powders has been investigated using a combination of pendulum magnetometer and in situ heating of mechanically alloyed powder in a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The B2O3 oxides have no detectable effect on thermomagnetic behaviour. However, the ZrO2 was found to significantly influence the thermomagnetic behaviour of the amorphous phase by promoting primary crystallisation of the amorphous at a lower temperature.