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Early stages of Al-nanocrystal formation in Al92Sm8
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Abstract
Several proposals involving solute effects, phase separation or quenched-in nuclei and heterogeneous nucleation have been advanced to account for the high nanocrystal density that evolves during primary crystallization in marginal glass-forming alloys, but recent crystallization measurements and kinetics analyses provide new evidence for the role of the as-quenched structure on nanocrystal synthesis. Here, isothermal microcalorimetry investigations and quantitative electron microscopy measurements including high-resolution imaging and electron spectroscopy analyses were performed on a model system at different temperatures well below the glass transition to monitor the nanocrystallization isothermally as a function of time. From the combined measurements, the size distribution and the transformed fraction can be determined with a high accuracy for extended ranges of temperatures and times. In addition, calorimetric measurements in the glassy, liquid and crystalline states of the model alloy serves to analyze, for the first time, the fragility characteristics of a marginal glass-former that presents an important parameter in the context of the kinetic stability of the material against premature crystallization.
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- Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004
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