Amorphous and nanocrystalline Fe85Zr7B6Cu2 alloys

Local atomic order around Fe and Cu atoms in Fe85Zr7B6Cu2 amorphous and crystalline alloys annealed for 1 h at temperatures 420 degrees C, 460 degrees C, 480 degrees C, 500 degrees C and 570 degrees C were studied by X-ray absorption. It was found that, in the as-quenched alloy, both Fe and Cu atoms are in an amorphous environment. For Fe atoms we have observed a systematic increase of a body centered cubic (bcc) type of ordering with increasing temperature of anneal and bcc Fe crystallites growing at temperatures higher than 460 degrees C. In contrast, for Cu atoms, we have observed face centered cubic (fcc) ordering in all the annealed alloys and that Cu nanocrystallites started to grow at a temperature of 420 degrees C, while the Fe atoms remained in an amorphous matrix. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.