Mössbauer study of incompletely alloyed nanocrystalline Fe100??? x Al x prepared by high energy ball milling

Mechanically alloyed Fe_100???x Al _x powders, with 20≤?x?≤90, have been studied by X-ray diffraction and room temperature ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. The milling time was chosen such that complete alloying does not take place. For a fixed milling time of 10 h, the rate of alloying was seen to increase exponentially with increase in Fe content. Mössbauer spectra of all the samples consist of a broad magnetic sextet and a quadrupole doublet. The isomer shifts and quadrupole splitting of the doublets are typical of Al-rich, Fe–Al alloys. The area under the quadrupole doublet is a maximum for x?=?66. Analysis of the Mössbauer spectra indicates the formation off- stoichiometric Fe₃Al phase for x?<?66, while the formation of Fe clusters is largely responsible for the magnetic hyperfine component in x?≥?66 compositions.