Ti50Cu25Ni20Sn5 (at.%) powder was subjected to high-energy ball milling at
room temperature and -78?C. As a function of the milling time, evaluation
of phases, morphology and the refinement of grain size were investigated by
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD),
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy
(TEM), and laser-diffraction particle size analysis (PSA). The
transformation of the crystalline structure into an amorphous structure and
then the transformation into a nanocrystalline structure during further
milling was detected. The stress-induced martensitic transformation has
taken place after 30 min milling time at both temperatures, the cubic
Cu(Ni,Cu)Ti2 phase transforms into the orthogonal structure. The hardness
value of powders after 150 min milling time increases from 506 to 780
HV0.01. The milling temperature does not significantly influence the amount
of amorphous fraction (33-36 wt.%) but the composition of amorphous content
is more influenced by temperature. The interval of crystallite size was
between 1.2 and 11.7 nm after 180 min of milling. The amount and the cell
parameters of the Sn-containing phases are different between the two milling
experiments, owing to the diffusion coefficients of the Sn atom differ to a
large extent.