Crystallization behaviors of ZrCuNiAlTi₄ bulk amorphous alloy during continuous heating

The crystallization behaviors of Zr_56.6Cu_17.3Ni_12.5 Al_9.6Ti₄ (at %) bulk amorphous alloy during continuous heating are investigated mainly by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The results show that with increasing of heating rates, all the characteristic temperatures including glass transition temperature T_g, onset crystallization temperature T_x and peak crystallization temperatures T_p1 and T_p2 shift to higher temperatures while the relationship between the characteristic temperatures and the heating rates obeys the first order exponential decay relation. The activation energies E_g, E_x, and E_p, corresponding to characteristic temperatures T_g, T_x, and T_p, respectively, were obtained from the Kissinger and Ozawa equations. The calculated activation energies show good agreement by the Kissinger or Ozawa equations due to the almost invariability of the crystallization volume fraction at the characteristic temperatures for different heating rates. The values of E_g, E_x, E_p1i, and E_p2 fellow the sequence of E_g ≈ E_p1 ≈ E_p2 < E_x.