HRTEM studies of NiNbZr + Ag amorphous-nanocrystalline composites.

Amorphous powder of composition corresponding to Ni60Ti20Zr20 (in at%) was obtained by ball milling in a high-energy mills starting from pure elements. Formation of the amorphous structure was observed already after 20 h of milling, although complete amorphization occurred after 40 h. The microhardness of powders increased from about 30 HV for pure elements to above 400 HV (1290 MPa) after 40 h of milling. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) allowed to identify nanocrystalline inclusions of intermetallic phases of size 2-10 nm. Uniaxial hot pressing was performed in vacuum at temperature below the crystallization T(x) it is 510 degrees C and pressure of 600 MPa, Mixed amorphous powders and nanocrystalline silver powders were used to form a composite, in which microhardness was near 970 MPa HV and 400 HV for the amorphous phase and nanocrystalline silver, respectively. The compression strength of the composite containing 20 wt% of nanocrystalline Ag powder was equal to 600 MPa and plastic strain was 2%. Microstructure studies showed low porosity of composites of less than 1%, uniform distribution of the silver phase and a transition zone between both components, about 150 nm thick, where diffusion of nickel, niobium and zirconium into silver was observed. High-resolution TEM allowed identifying the structure of nanocrystalline inclusions in the amorphous matrix after hot pressing as either Ni(3)Zr or Ni(17)Nb(3). The identification was performed basing on measurements of angles and interatomic distances using inverse Fourier transformed images with enhanced contrast using Digital Micrograph computer program.