Influence of milling time on microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe80P11C9 alloy produced by mechanical alloying

Fe80P11C9 alloy with amorphous/nanocrytalline microstructure has been synthesized by mechanical alloying of the elemental powders. The microstructure, thermal behavior and morphology of the produced powders have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The crystallite size, lattice strain and fraction of the amorphous phase have been calculated by Rietveld refinement method. The results indicate that the powders microstructure consists of α-Fe(P,C) nanocrystals with an average diameter of 9 nm±1 nm dispersed in the amorphous matrix after 90 h of milling. Moreover, the fraction of amorphous phase initially increases up to 90 h of milling and then decreases after 120 h of milling, as a result of mechanical crystallization and formation of Fe2P phase. The magnetic measurements show that while the saturation magnetization decreases continuously with the milling time, the coercivity exhibits a complicated trend. The correlation between microstructural changes and magnetic properties has been discussed in detail.