Coexisting antiferromagnetism and ferromagnetism in mechanically alloyed Fe-rich Fe-Ni alloys : Implications regarding the Fe-Ni phase diagram below 400 °C

• Fe–Ni alloys below the Invar region with compositions Fe100−xNix (x=21, 24, and 27 at%) were prepared by high-energy ball milling technique (mechanical alloying). The as-milled samples, characterized by X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy, contain a mixture of α (BCC) and γ (FCC) phases, whereas the samples annealed at 650°C for 0.5 h show a single γ (FCC) phase displaying a single line Mössbauer spectrum at room temperature (RT). At low temperature, the Mössbauer spectra of annealed Fe76Ni24 and Fe73Ni27 alloys show the existence of a magnetically split pattern together with a broad singlet, which are ascribed to a high-moment ferromagnetic Ni-rich phase and a low-moment Fe-rich phase, respectively. The Fe-rich phase in annealed Fe76Ni24 alloy, which is paramagnetic at RT, undergoes antiferromagnetic ordering at ∼40 K, estimated from the dramatic line broadening of its spectrum, giving rise to a small hyperfine field (e.g. ∼2 T at 6 K). The coexistence of these phases is attributed to phase segregation occurring in these alloys as a result of enhanced atomic diffusion. The stability of these alloys towards martensitic (FCC→BCC) transformation at low temperatures is discussed in connection with the Fe–Ni phase diagram below 400°C.

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