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The phase formation mechanism, microstructure and superconducting properties of Nb 3 Al prepared by mechanical alloying and subsequent sintering were systematically investigated in this work. It was found that when the milling time is less than 16h, the Nb 3 Al is formed via the reaction between the Nb 2 Al that crystallizes from Nb–Al amorphous phase and residual Nb during subsequent sintering process. Whereas the milling time exceeds 16h, the Nb 3 Al transforms directly from Nb–Al supersaturated solid solution (Nb(Al) ss) during subsequent sintering process. Due to this difference in phase formation route, the grain size of M16h sintered sample is larger than that of M12h and M20h sintered samples. Besides, the intergranular connectivity of M16h sintered sample is the poorest among them. These factors make the critical current density (J c) of M16h sample abnormally lower than that of both M12h and M20h samples. According to these results, the highest J c (about 1 × 104 A cm−2 at 4.2K, 6T) is obtained for the sample prepared by 20h ball milling and subsequent sintering at 850°Cfor 5h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Nb 3 Al superconductors with high superconducting performance are of interest as potential materials for using in high magnetic fields. The phase formation mechanism plays a vital role in preparing high quality Nb 3 Al superconductor, especially with better superconducting transition temperature (T c). In this work, the phase evolution of Nb Al system during mechanical alloying and subsequent sintering process was studied, and the corresponding kinetics mechanism of Nb 3 Al phase formation was investigated in detail. It was found that the Nb 3 Al phase can be formed through two different routes: one is reaction between Nb 2 Al and Nb, the other is transformation from Nb Al supersaturated solid solution (Nb(Al) ss) directly. Mechanical alloying promotes the transformation of Nb Al pre-alloyed powders from local Nb Al amorphous to Nb(Al) ss , controlling the different formation routes of Nb 3 Al phase. According to the kinetics calculation of the Nb 3 Al phase formation during sintering process, the values of activation energy (E) for the reaction between Nb 2 Al and Nb forming Nb 3 Al is higher than that for the transformation from Nb(Al) ss to Nb 3 Al in the initial stage, but decreases sharply with the reaction going on. Moreover, Nb 3 Al bulk synthesized via reaction between Nb 2 Al and Nb obtained a higher value of T c (about 15.8 K) compared with the Nb 3 Al bulk synthesized via Nb(Al) ss. The results in our work suggest that the phase formation mechanism of Nb 3 Al during mechanical alloying and subsequent sintering process actually influence their final superconductivity performance and can give an effective guide for optimizing the technique of preparing Nb 3 Al superconductors. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Two formation routes of Nb 3 Al phase are found during mechanical alloying and subsequent sintering. • The formation of Nb 3 Al phase is dominated by interface reaction and random nucleation. • Nb 3 Al bulk synthesized via reaction between Nb 2 Al and Nb obtained a higher value of T c. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]