Nano-Al Formed by Phase Separation in the Al85Ni10Ce5 Metallic Glass

Abstract

A nucleation-growth control for Al 85 Ni 10 Ce 5 glass has transformed to a growth control for Al 83 Ni 10 Ce 5 Si 2 glass. That's to say a small quantity of Si addition can successfully separate the Al phase to single precipitate from a eutectic precipitation composited of Al and other intermetallic compound to synthesize nanostructured materials, characteristic of microstructures with finely dispersed nanoccrystalline Al in an amorphous matrix. Favorably no evident decrease of glass forming ability is observed in the transformation. We suggest that the Si atoms solve into Al lattice to sever as preexist nucleus for fcc-Al, in the same time; a nucleation reaction of fcc-Al is accompanied to compensate the nucleation rate.