Mössbauer studies and some magnetic properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline Fe87−xZr7B6Cux alloys

Abstract The structure and low-field magnetic properties (i.e. the magnetic susceptibility and its disaccommodation) for the Fe 87 Zr 7 B 6 and Fe 86 Zr 7 B 6 Cu 1 alloys in the amorphous and nanocrystalline states are investigated. It was stated that the replacement of 1 at% iron atoms by Cu atoms in Fe 87 Zr 7 B 6 leads to the decrease of the crystallization temperature. Moreover, the results obtained indicate that in the nanocrystalline alloys, besides the amorphous matrix and α-Fe grains, the interfacial zone consisting of two components may be distinguished. The volume fraction of the interfacial zone is higher for the nanocrystalline Fe 86 Zr 7 B 6 Cu 1 alloy. From studies on the magnetic susceptibility disaccommodation in investigated alloys, it is evident that the relaxation processes occurring in the amorphous phase are the main source of this phenomenon. From the analysis of the isochronal disaccommodation curves (applying a Gaussian distribution of relaxation times) the values of activation energy of the individual processes are found.