Powder metallurgy preparation of Al–Cu–Fe quasicrystals using mechanical alloying and Spark Plasma Sintering

•Mechanical alloying optimized for direct preparation of Al–Cu–Fe quasicrystal.•Quasicrystal forms already during mechanical alloying.•Optimized process produces nearly pore-free quasicrystal-rich material.

This work is devoted to the preparation of ultrafine material based on Al–Cu–Fe quasicrystalline phase by powder metallurgy using mechanical alloying and Spark Plasma Sintering. The dependence of microstructure and phase composition of powders on the conditions of mechanical alloying was described. It was found that the Al60Cu30Fe10 quasicrystalline phase forms directly already after 2 h of milling under optimized conditions. The stability of this quasicrystalline phase was studied at various temperatures of Spark Plasma Sintering compaction process.