Effect of the milling energy on the production and thermal stability of amorphous Mg50Ni50

The effect of milling energy on the amorphisation process and subsequent thermal crystallization of Mg50Ni50 was investigated. The amorphous Mg50Ni50 was produced using a planetary mill (medium energy) with a ball to material weight ratio of 13:1, and a SPEX mill (high energy) with a ball to material weight ratio of 20:1. The results obtained by means of X-ray diffraction showed that it is possible to obtain an amorphous Mg50Ni50 alloy, through both milling processes, starting of Ni powders and Mg turnings. However, the amorphisation process requires more time in the planetary mill (80–90 h) than in the SPEX mill (15–20 h), due to the difference in energy level and milling mechanism between these mills. The phase evolution during the amorphisation process is practically independent of the mill energy. In this way, it was observed that the mill conditions promoted an extensive refinement of the microstructure during the first hours of milling. The defects produced during this time led to the amorphisation of part of the system. This amorphous precursor suffers a mechanically induced crystallization into Mg2Ni, which is subsequently destabilized into amorphous Mg50Ni50. Based on the results obtained, it is proposed that the formation of amorphous precursor during mechanical milling of Mg and Ni is a characteristic of the Mg–Ni system, over a wide composition range, rather than of a particular composition. In relation to the thermal crystallization of the amorphous produced, the results of the differential thermal analysis applied to the amorphous samples showed that the formation enthalpy for both amorphous is the same, however, the amorphous produced in a planetary mill presented higher crystallization temperatures and apparent activation energies than the amorphous produced in a SPEX mill. The last behavior would be related with iron contamination coming from the erosion of the milling media. Finally, it is possible to conclude, that under the experimental condition employed, the amorphous phases produced in a planetary and SPEX mill, are structurally and energetically similar.