Synthesis of the NiZr2 intermetallic compound nanophase materials

The NiZr2 intermetallic compound nanocrystalline materials were synthesized by completely crystallizing an amorphous NiZr2 alloy under proper annealing conditions. The microstructure of the NiZr2 nanophase was characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution electron microscopy (HREM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. It was found that the NiZr2 nanophase sample consists of ultrafine lamellae with thicknesses of a few nanometers and there are well-defined twin boundaries between the neighboring lamellae. The dependence of the annealing temperature on the mean grain size was determined. The formation process of the NiZr2 nanophase during a polymorphous crystallization of the amorphous phase was monitored by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and its kinetics was analyzed.