Amorphization and evolution of magnetic properties during mechanical alloying of Co62Nb6Zr2B30: Dependence on starting boron microstructure

Co62Nb6Zr2B30 composition was mechanically alloyed using three different types of boron powders in the starting mixture: crystalline beta-B, commercial amorphous B and optimized amorphous B via ball milling. Using optimized amorphous B, amorphization process of the alloy is more efficient but milling to optimize amorphous B introduces some iron contamination. Boron inclusions (100-150 nm in size) remain even after long milling times. However, using amorphous boron reduces the fraction of boron distributed as inclusions to similar to 40% of the total B. Thermal stability at the end of the milling process is affected by the initial boron microstructure. Coercivity is reduced a half using amorphous B instead of crystalline B in the starting mixture. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.