Positrons as chemically sensitive probes in interfaces of multicomponent complex materials: Nanocrystalline Fe90Zr7B3

Abstract The present paper reports on a combined analytical and structural study of nanocrystalline Fe90Zr7B3 by means of positron annihilation, (analytical) high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and X-ray diffraction. Particular focus is laid on the chemical nature of the intergranular amorphous matrix which occurs between the α-Fe nanocrystallites. Energy-dispersive X-ray measurements (EDX) with an electron nanobeam reveal an increased Zr content at the interface between the nanocrystallites and the intergranular amorphous phase. According to positron lifetime measurements, the intergranular amorphous phase and the interfaces between this phase and the nanocrystallites exhibit structural free volumes of the mean size slightly smaller than a lattice vacancy as in the amorphous precursor material. Coincident Doppler broadening measurements of the positron-electron annihilation photons show that the fraction of Zr in the neighborhood of the structural free volumes is higher in nanocrystalline Fe90Zr7B3 than in the amorphous state indicating an enhanced Zr concentration in the interfaces. These results are in good agreement with the HRTEM/ EDX studies and demonstrate the potentials of the coincident Doppler broadening technique for a chemical characterization of structurally complex materials on an atomistic scale.