Reactivity of Ni–Al nanocomposites prepared by mechanical activation: A molecular dynamics study

High energy ball milling of metallic powders leads to high reactivity in the milled mixture. The reaction is often faster and starts at a lower temperature. However, mechanisms responsible for this are not yet completely understood. aim study evaluate one possible activating factors heightened reactivity: nano-scale mixing reagents. Molecular dynamics was used analyze role an amorphous Ni–Al layer, mimicking powder microstructure after milling, between two Ni layers. impact temperature stoichiometry investigated relation formation B 2-NiAl intermetallic compound. At low temperatures, pre-mixing does seem slow down diffusion atoms Al region. Homogeneous nucleation observed peculiar microstructure. These phenomena explain why experimentally indeed factor systems such as Ni–Al.