Role of impurities in mechanical alloying amorphization of Cu-Zr and Cu-Zr-Al systems

Abstract

Amorphization of Cu₆₀Zr₄₀ and Cu₅₀Zr₄₃Al₇ alloys by mechanical alloying (MA) and mechanical milling (MM) has been studied. It has been shown that the impurities, in particular oxygen, have a strong effect on amorphization reaction of Cu-Zr and Cu-Zr-Al alloy systems. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and differential thermal analysis (DTA) showed that impurity atoms can prevent complete formation of amorphous structure due to the reaction of Zr with oxygen. To overcome this issue crystalline Cu₆₀Zr₄₀ and Cu₅₀Zr₄₃Al₇ alloys were first produced by melting process followed by ball milling to form a fully amorphous structure.