High spatial resolution PEELS characterization of FeAl nanograins prepared by mechanical alloying
- Univ. of Bologna (Italy)
- CANMET-NRCAN, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). Materials Technology Lab.
- Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom). Cavendish Lab.
The authors investigate the nanograin ``chemical`` structure in a nanostructured material of possible industrial application (Fe-Al system) prepared by conventional mechanical alloying via ball milling in argon atmosphere. They restrict themselves to the structural and nanochemical behavior of ball-milled nanocrystalline Fe-Al powders with atomic composition Fe{sub 3}Al, corresponding to a well-known intermetallic compound of the Fe-Al system. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) equipped with a parallel detection electron energy loss spectrometer (PEELS) has provided an insight on the ``chemical`` structure of both nanograins and their surface at a spatial resolution of better than 1 nm. The energy loss near edge structure of the Al L loss reveals that the Al coordination is similar to a B2 compound and the oxidation of the powder during processing may play a significant role in the stabilization of the intermetallic phases. Conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used for the structural characterization of the material after the ball milling; powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) aided the investigation.
- OSTI ID:
- 357939
- Journal Information:
- Acta Materialia, Vol. 47, Issue 7; Other Information: PBD: 28 May 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Characterization of nanostructured Ti based intermetallics
Impact of high energy ball milling on the nanostructure of magnetite–graphite and magnetite–graphite–molybdenum disulphide blends