Fast amorphization and crystallization in Al–Fe binary system by high-energy ball milling

Large amount of amorphous phase of Al–Fe binary system was obtained by MA of elemental powders using a high-energy ball mill at milling intensity of 150G (G is the gravitational acceleration). XRD, HRTEM and DSC were used to analyze the process of amorphization and crystallization. The time required achieving almost complete amorphous state is only 4.2 ks for Al–25 at.%Fe system and 3 ks for Al–30 at.%Fe system, respectively. The time of amorphous formation is very shorter than that of previous reports on Al–Fe binary system. Further milling causes rapid crystallization of the amorphous phase. By analysis of S(Q), the presence of a strong Al–Fe chemical short-range order in the amorphous matrix is suggested. Moreover, the superstructure of these Al–Fe clusters in the amorphous matrix is similar to the solid structure of Al5Fe2, and the clusters transform into the nucleus of Al5Fe2 intermetallic compound under the action of milling energy.