Generation and evolution of nanoscale AlP and Al13Fe4 particles in Al–Fe–P system

In this paper, the gradual solid reactions between Al and Fe x P phases in Al–Fe–P alloy were investigated. The results show that the whole reaction process undergoes four main stages: the diffusion of Al atom, the generation of (Al, Fe, P) intermediate compound, the precipitation of nano AlP and Al 13 Fe 4 clusters and their growth to submicron particles. The microstructure of Fe–P particles evolves from the “egg-type”, the “sponge-type” to the “sesame-cake” structure. AlP and Al 13 Fe 4 nano phases have in-situ generated and evolved during the whole process. The gradual reaction mechanism has been discussed. Furthermore, a novel Al–Fe–P alloy which contains (Al, Fe, P) intermediate compounds and nano AlP particles has been synthesized and its low-temperature refining performance on A390 alloy has also been investigated.