Crystallization Kinetics of Fe76.5-x C6.0Si3.3B5.5P8.7Cu x (x=0, 0.5, and 1 at. pct) Bulk Amorphous Alloy

The influence of Cu on crystallization kinetics of Fe76.5-x C6.0Si3.3B5.5P8.7Cu (x) (x = 0, 0.5, and 1 at. pct) bulk amorphous alloys was investigated by isothermal and isochronal differential scanning calorimetry combined with X-ray diffraction. The thermal analysis revealed that the crystallization of the amorphous matrix proceeds through at least two exothermic events. The Cu-free glassy alloy forms by primary crystallization the metastable Fe23C6 phase, while upon 0.5 at. pct Cu addition the primary crystallized phase is alpha-Fe. The activation energy for crystallization, calculated using both Kissinger and Ozawa methods, decreases from about 500 kJ/mol to about 330 kJ/mol. Further increase of Cu addition to 1 at. pct promotes the concomitant crystallization of several phases, as alpha-Fe, FeB, Fe3C, and Fe2P. In order to understand the crystallization behavior of the alloys as a function of Cu content, the Avrami exponent n, evaluated from the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation, was in details analyzed. The current study reveals that the minor Cu addition plays a crucial role at the initial stage of the crystallization. Among the studied alloys, the glassy samples with 0.5 at. pct Cu addition have the optimum compositional condition for the single alpha-Fe formation with a high nucleation rate.