New ball milling induced solid solution and amorphous phases in the Zn-V system

The solid phase transition induced by ball milling in the Zn-V system has been investigated by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and thermodynamic analysis approaches. Milling for a short period in the Zn-V system leads to the formation of an extensive solid solution, despite these elements being virtually immiscible in the solid state, continuous milling results in complete amorphization, finally transforming to a vanadium-gas compound. A strong case can be made that the driving force for amorphization is not provided by the enthalpy of mixing, but by stored deformation energy in the system.