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Differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the Fe76.5Nb3B20Cu0.5 glassy alloys. The nanocrystallization products and soft magnetic properties as a function of annealing temperatures were also studied by using X-ray diffractometer and vibrating sample magnetometer. The activation energies for Eg, Ex, and Ep are equal to 499 ± 3, 558 ± 7, and 693 ± 2 kJ mol−1 by Kissinger method, respectively, and 512 ± 3, 571 ± 9, and 715 ± 2 kJ mol−1 estimated by Ozawa method, respectively. The results indicate that the glass transition process is easier than the nucleation and grain growth process, while the grain growth process is much difficult than the nucleation process. The local Avrami exponent n(x) varies with the crystallized volume fraction x, indicating that the crystallization process has different crystallization mechanisms. The n(x) ranging from 1.0 to 1.2 for 0.05 < x < 0.2 represents the growth of particles of appreciable initial volume. The 0.5 < n(x) < 1.0 for x ranging from 0.2 to 0.8 stands for the growth of a large number of the pre-existing nuclei. Isothermal annealing experiment indicates that the initial nanocrystallization product is α-Fe phase, and the final nanocrystallization products are composed of α-Fe, Fe2B and Fe3B phases. With increasing annealing temperature, both the saturation magnetization Ms and coercivity Hc are enhanced. High temperature annealing is found to weaken their soft magnetic properties, which is ascribed to the precipitation of boride. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to investigate the thermal behavior and non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the Fe67Nb5B28 metallic glasses prepared by melt-spinning method. DSC traces exhibit that the crystallization takes place through a single exothermic reaction, and it processes a good thermal stability in thermodynamics. The activation energies for nucleation and grain growth processes were calculated to be 536 ± 22 and 559 ± 20 kJ mol−1 by Kissinger equation, respectively, and 551 ± 24 and 574 ± 20 kJ mol−1 by Ozawa equation, respectively. It means that the grain growth process is more difficult than the nucleation process. The variation of local Avrami exponent n(x) with crystallized fraction x demonstrates that the crystallization mechanism varies at different stages. The n(x) is larger than 2.5 at the initial stage of 0 < x < 0.3, implying a mechanism of diffusion-controlled three-dimensional growth with increasing nucleation rate. The n(x) decreases from 2.5 to 1.5 in the range of 0.3 < x < 0.65, suggesting that the crystallization belongs to three-dimensional nucleation and grain growth with decreasing nucleation rate. And n(x) lies between 1.0 and 1.5 in the range of 0.65 < x < 0.95, indicating that the crystallization corresponds to the growth of particles with an appreciable initial volume. Low-temperature annealing corresponds to the precipitation of α-Fe, Fe2B, and Fe23B6 phases, and further annealing leads to the formation of α-Fe, Fe2B, and FeNbB phases. The magnetic properties in relation to microstructure change of the Fe67Nb5B28 metallic glasses are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]