A Nonconventional Method to Produce Zr Alloys to Study the Fe23Zr6 Intermetallic Compound in the Fe-Zr System

Abstract

A nonconventional method with an arc furnace was used to produce four binary alloys of Fe79.3Zr20.7 nominal atomic compositions with the aim of studying the Fe23Zr6 controversial intermetallic compound. The alloys were manufactured with raw materials with different degrees of purity. The existing phases were identified by x-ray diffraction, semi-quantitative microanalysis by means of a scanning electron microscope with an energy dispersive spectrometer attached, and quantitative microanalysis by using an electron microprobe with a wavelength dispersive spectrometer. The Fe23Zr6 phase, which until now has been observed in grains up to 20 µm in size in arc-furnace samples, was found in millimeter scales in the present work. Moreover, slow cooling of the alloys from the liquid state favors the formation of the Fe23Zr6 compound, regardless of the degree of purity of the heat-treated samples.