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Together with sponsor Meta, Tyndall celebrates the winners and finalists of the 2021 Postgraduate Publication of the Year.
Despite the continuous pandemic challenges, our students once again showed outstanding discoveries and results as part of their PhD projects, some even opening major new possibilities in their field.
Dr Fatima Gunning, Head of Graduate Studies at Tyndall, praised the entries, saying: "Year on year our students really showcase their outstanding contributions to Tyndall’s Research Excellence through the Postgraduate Research Publication of Year competition. This time, we noticed new entries from students who started their research during pandemic and lockdowns, which were quite disruptive, but their perseverance, endurance and team support paid off with excellent results! Once again we saw early stage PhD students submitting their exceptional publications, so special awards as Rising Stars for 2nd and 3rd years were also included! Congratulations to all!"
Finalist
“CALPHAD-assisted development of in-situ nanocrystallised melt-spun Co-Fe-B alloy with high Bs (1.57 T) Journal of Alloys and Compounds”
1. What encouraged you to submit your application to the 2021 Postgraduate Research Publication of the Year?
In this paper, we suggest the proposed approach to design nanostructured alloys, along with an in-situ nanocrystallisation, provides a practical scheme to develop novel functional alloys with the best possible balance of coercivity and saturation magnetisation. This paper, which was the main focus of the third Chapter of my PhD thesis, was published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds, which is a prestigious journal in my field.
2. What inspired you to choose the subject of your paper?
One of the alternative routes to developing the nanocrystalline alloys is a post-annealing of rapidly quenched amorphous precursors at elevated temperatures. However, nanocrystallisation of amorphous alloys is a multi-step process and requires a special scheme. In addition, the growth of a particular phase with optimal performance is challenging. The heat treatment process (of nanocrystallisation) causes the embrittlement of the ribbons and, therefore, deteriorates the manufacturability in subsequent procedures. An alternative approach is to synthesise nanostructured alloys without post heat treatment is “in-situ nanocrystallisation”, using rapid-quenching. However, this requires a careful design of alloy composition, with low or moderate amorphisation capability (AMC) to avoid both vitrification into a glassy state, or precipitation into a fully crystalline state, during the rapid- quenching. In our article, a novel approach was taken into account to design the Co-Fe-B alloy with a moderate AMC.
3. What’s your paper about and how did you prepare for it? What role did research excellence play in your approach?
In this work, thermodynamic parameters, predicted by the Calculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) approach, and the topological instability criteria, λ, are considered to design the Co-Fe-B alloy with a moderate AMC and evaluate the formation of in-situ nanocrystalline structures of a CoFe-based alloy with high M s using rapid-quenching. The very-high B s (1.57 T) of the as-quenched alloy is clearly attributed to the formation of the Co 7 Fe 3 nanostructured phase, which is dispersed heterogeneously in the amorphous matrix, throughout the volume of the melt-spun ribbons. The latter are subjected to detailed structural investigations, using XRD, TEM, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Based on the compositional maps of the relevant parameters, a model is proposed to enhance the probability of in-situ nanocrystallisation, by adjusting the different thermodynamic and topological parameters. The proposed approach of designing in-situ nanocrystalline alloys by rapid-quenching, using both thermodynamic and topological parameters, is useful for the development of functional materials for a broad range of applications.
4. The selection for Research Publication of the Year is extremely competitive. What is your advice for those aspiring for nomination next year?
First, try to find the main focus of your work as a question to answer or a problem to solve through an extensive literature review. Then design a roadmap from what the latest findings are in that specific area and what can be the state-of-the-art approach to tackle the issue. Try to solve the issue following your approach. Even if you would not be able to completely solve the issue, you will get some valuable findings to help the research community in your field.
5. What is the single most significant support Tyndall has been able to offer you in achieving your research goals? (Please provide any detail on additional supports that assisted? How has Tyndall enabled you to fulfil your potential in this regard?)
My supervisors Paul McCloskey and Plamen Stamenov were the most influential supports in my research. Tyndall gave me the opportunity to not only be a member of Integrated Magnetics Group, but also collaborate with the Magnetism and Spin Electronics Group in Trinity College, Dublin. Thus, I had this opportunity to collaborate with people and utilise the facilities available in both prestigious institutes.
Hasan Ahmadian Baghbaderani; Ansar Masood, Kenny L. Alvarez, Cian Ó’Mathúna, Paul McCloskey, Plamen Stameno, “CALPHAD-assisted development of in-situ nanocrystallised melt-spun Co-Fe-B alloy with high Bs (1.57 T) Journal of Alloys and Compounds”, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, Volume 877, 5 October 2021, 160194.