Quasicrystalline phase formation by heating a mechanically alloyed Al65Cu23Fe12 powder mixture

Abstract Elemental powder mixtures of a Al65Cu23Fe12composition milled for two and four hours in a planetary ball mill were used to form quasicrystals. Annealing of the as-milled samples led to complex solid-state transformations. During the heat-up a sequence of solid-state reactions takes place in the as-milled powder. These reactions were studied both by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction methods. An analysis of the phase formation shows the effect of the difference in the thermodynamic driving forces, such as the positive heats of mixing for the Cu–Fe system and the negative ones for the Al–Fe and Al–Cu systems, on the phase transformation consequence.