Formation of nano-sized Ti68Fe26Si6 icosahedral quasicrystalline phase by rapid quenching and mechanical alloying

Investigation using rapid quenching (RQ) and mechanical alloying (MA) were conducted to produce Ti68Fe26Si6 icosahedral quasicrystals. Subsequent heat treatment was performed on both rapidly quenched ribbons and mechanically alloyed powders in a vacuum furnace under various heat treatment conditions of temperature ranging from 440 to 900°C with a constant heating rate of 10°C/min and holding time up to 30 h. The amorphous phase of Ti68Fe26Si6 ribbon was successively achieved by RQ for the first time from the present investigation. During the heat treatment, the icosahedral quasicrystalline phase was transformed from the melt-spun amorphous ribbon at the glass transition temperature of 430°C and remained up to approximately 520°C. The quasicrystalline phase, however, was somewhat difficult to be obtained from heat treatment of the Ti68Fe26Si6 powder milled for 5 h under the present experimental conditions.