SYNTHESIS AND STABILITY OF AMORPHOUS CU60TI40-XZRX ALLOYS BY MECHANICAL ALLOYING

The amorphous Cu60Ti40-xZrx (x = 0, 10, 20 and 30) alloys were successfully synthesized by mechanical alloying of pure elemental powders of Cu, Ti and Zr using a planetary high-energy ball mill. The structure and thermal behaviour of these alloys were analysed by x-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. The results indicate that the replacement of Ti by Zr increases the chemical driving force of the amorphization reaction and the interaction of dissimilar atoms of the Cu-Ti-Zr ternary system. Thus, the glass-forming tendency, the amorphization rate and the stability are all improved. In addition, the stability of Cu-Ti-Zr amorphous powders is related to the crystallization sequence and the first crystallization phase.