Effect of Mechanical Milling and Cold Pressing on Co Powder

Abstract

Cold pressing (CP) of the amorphous-like Co powder suppressed most of the XRD peaks, in particular the peak along (100) plane. The DSC curve of unmilled CP Co powder has shown a distinct sharp exothermic peak at 615C°. Upon annealing at 700C°, only the FCC phase with lattice parameter of 3.51 Å was detected by XRD. Our results implied that the exotherm at 615C° corresponds to compaction-pressure-assisted HCP to FCC first-order phase transition. The XRD analysis of 30 h milled powder revealed for the first time the FCC phase with a=3.80 Å. However, due to presence of (100) and (210) peaks, this phase is thought to be FCT with lattice parameters a=b=3.80 and c=3.07 Å. Consequently, the high-energy milling carried out in the current work induced for the first time HCP to FCT transition in Co. Upon CP of milled powder, the lattice parameter a shrunk from 3.80 to 3.75 Å. However, during annealing of the CP milled Co powder at 750C°, the FCT to FCC transition occurred, yielding the FCC phase with a=3.51 Å.