THE EFFECT OF MECHANICAL MILLING ON THE STRUCTURE AND MAGNETIC-PROPERTIES OF FE2SC LAVES PHASE

The Fe2Sc intermetallic compound with C14 Laves phase structure was me chanically milled. The structural evolution and the change in atomic o rder were followed by X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Th e influence of mechanical milling on the magnetic properties was studi ed by Mossbauer spectroscopy and magnetization measurement. The result s indicated that ball milling induced a partial chemical disorder foll owed by an amorphization. The partial chemical disorder and the amorph ization lead to an increase in magnetic moment of Fe in the materials. The amorphous phase exhibits a ferromagnetic behavior with Curie temp erature of about 250 K, which is much lower than that of 540 K for the original compound. The crystallization temperature of the amorphous p hase is about 873 K, as determined by DSC measurement.