Mössbauer, X-ray diffraction and magnetization studies of Fe–Mn–Al–Nb alloys prepared by high energy ball milling.

Fe60Mn10Al20Nb10, (Fe60Mn10Al30)95Nb5 and (Fe60Mn10Al30)90Nb10 ball milled powdered alloys were investigated using X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectrometry, thermomagnetic (TGM) and magnetization measurements. We studied the influence of Nb content and of different milling times on the structural and magnetic properties. Two main features can be concluded: (1) the FeAlMn induces a BCC phase whatever the Nb content is, and (2) as both increasing Nb content and milling time give rise to an highly disordered state in conjunction with a decrease of the ferromagnetic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]