Kinetics of ß-phase transformation in the heat treatment of FeSi₂- and Fe₂Si₅-based thermoelectric alloys

FeSi₂- and Fe₂Si₅-based thermoelectric alloys have been fabricated by melt spinning and levitation melting. It was found that the levitation-melted FeSi₂-based alloy must be annealed at 800°C for 10 h to complete transformation of the β phase, while an anneal for only 6 h was needed for the melt-spun alloy. On the other hand, annealing the levitation-melted Fe₂Si₅-based alloy for 4 h was enough to complete β-phase formation, whereas 14 h was required for the melt-spun alloy. Annealing temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient showed that the maximum rate of transformation to β phase occurred at about 800°C for all samples. Application of the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation revealed that grain-boundary nucleation was predominant in the levitation-melted FeSi₂-based alloy (time exponent n = 1.1), while the zero nucleation mechanism was operative in the melt-spun alloy (n = 3.1). For the eutectoid reactions in the Fe₂Si₅-based alloys, several kinds of nucleation site were active. However, nuclei formed at grain edges were dominant in the melt-spun alloy since n = 1.6.