Stability of metastable phase and soft magnetic properties of bulk Fe-B nano-eutectic alloy prepared by undercooling solidification combined with CU-mold chilling

Bulk Fe83B17 nano-eutectic alloys were prepared by undercooling solidification combined with Cu-mold chilling method. Stable phase Fe2B and metastable phase Fe3B were found to coexist in the as-solidified microstructure. The soft magnetic properties were improved significantly by the nano-lamellar eutectic and the metastable phase and, were increased further by annealing at 1173 K for 1.5 h after which the metastable phase was decomposed completely. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.