In Situ Time-Resolved X-Ray Diffraction Investigation of the ω→ψ Transition in Al-Cu-Fe Quasicrystal-Forming Alloys

Quasicrystals are aperiodic long-range ordered solids with a high potential for many modern applications. Interest is nowadays paid to the development of economically viable large-scale synthesis procedures of quasicrystalline materials involving solid-state transformations. The kinetics of the high-temperature phase transition from the complex ω-phase to the icosahedral quasicrystalline (iQC) ψ-phase in AlCuFe nanopowders was here examined by in-situ time-resolved X-ray diffraction experiments using synchrotron radiation. In-situ XRD experiments will allow insight on the influence of uniaxial applied pressure on the kinetics of phase transitions leading to the formation of single-phase QC nanopowders and further contribute to the optimization of sintering procedures for nano-quasicrystalline AlCuFe alloy powders.