Crystallization kinetics of bulk Cu58.1Zr35.9Al6 alloy

The crystallization kinetics of the bulk amorphous Cu58.1Zr35.9Al6 alloy was examined by differential scanning calorimetry under continuous heating and isothermal annealing. During continuous heating, the activation energy of crystallization was determined to be 383 kJ/mol by Kissinger method. However, on the isothermal annealing, the activation energy was determined to be 459.2 kJ/mol by the Arrhenius method, which was much larger than that obtained from the Kissinger method. The different temperatures at which crystallization occurs are responsible for the discrepancy in the activation energy. The average Avrami exponent of about 3.5 implies that the crystallization process of the bulk amorphous Cu58.1Zr35.9Al6 alloy is diffusion-controlled with a nucleation rate decreasing with time.