Fe-Ag pseudo-alloys obtained by wire electric explosion, ball milling and spark plasma sintering

Structural features of Fe-25 wt.% Ag pseudo-alloys obtained by spark plasma sintering of the product of wire electric explosion (WEE) and the product of WEE processed by ball milling were comparatively investigated for the first time. In the sintered pseudo-alloy produced from the WEE powder, inclusions of iron 5-10 mu m were found in the Fe-Ag composite matrix. The size of silver grains was of the order of 1 mu m and 300-500 nm in the sintered materials produced from the WEE powder and ball-milled powder, respectively. The pseudo-alloys sintered from the ball-milled powder showed a higher microhardness than the material sintered from the WEE powder. Porous silver obtained from the pseudo-alloy sintered from the WEE powder by selectively dissolving iron showed micrometer-sized pores in the former places of iron particles of those sizes. In contrast, porous silver obtained from the pseudo-alloy sintered from the ball-milled powder had a uniform structure free from large pores.

Automated summary

The structural features of Fe-25 wt.% Ag pseudo-alloys obtained by spark plasma sintering and ball milling were compared. The sintered pseudo-alloy from the ball-milled powder had higher microhardness and a uniform structure, while the sintered material from the WEE powder contained inclusions of different sizes and the resulting porous silver had micrometer-sized pores.