Influence of the milling conditions on the amorphization of Fe82Nb6B12 alloy

Fe82Nb6B12 alloy was synthesized from the elemental powders by a planetary high-energy ball mill, at room temperature, using different milling times a nd different surfactants. The products were measured by X-ray diffraction, magnetic thermogravimetry, vibrating sample magnetometer, and Mossbauer spe ctroscopy. Amorphization was observed from the X-ray diffraction on a sampl e ball milled for about 220 h using 595 rpm and cyclohexane as surfactant. Nevertheless, using the same conditions without surfactant, only the bcc Fe was found. The results are compared with data for rapidly quenched materia ls. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.