Structure development in amorphous AlCeNi alloys

The forming and decomposition of Al84Ce6Ni10 and Al81Ce10Ni9 glasses produced by melt spinning under different melt temperatures and cooling rates was investigated by means of x-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy (TEM and ESEM), electrical resistivity (ER) and calorimetric measurements during isothermal and continuous heating. The influence of the different production conditions on the relaxation, glass transition and crystallization are analysed. In the Al84Ce6Ni10 glasses the melt temperature and cooling rate do not have a strong influence on the glass forming, the transition to the supercooled liquid (SL) and the formation of a eutectic as the first crystalline structure. In the Al81Ce10Ni9 materials the different synthesis conditions produce fully or partial amorphous structure in the as-quenched state. The transformation to the crystalline structure without glass transition occurs with the formation of NC-fcc Al (nanocrystals) before a eutectic crystallization is dominant