Oxidation Resistance of Highly Porous Fe-Al Foams Prepared by Thermal Explosion

Open-cell Fe-Al intermetallic foams were successfully prepared by a simple and energy-saving thermal explosion (TE) process. The effects of the Fe/Al molar ratio (Fe-(40–50) at. pct Al) and thermal treatment temperature on the TE temperature profile, phase composition, pore characteristics, and oxidation resistance of the prepared foams were investigated. The results showed that the Al content significantly influenced the ignition (T_ig) and combustion (T_c) temperatures of the TE process; in particular, as the Al content decreased, T_ig increased gradually from 623 °C to 636 °C and T_c decreased from 1059 °C to 981 °C. FeAl was identified as the dominant phase in the thermally treated foams. The Fe-Al intermetallic foams displayed an open porosity of 60 vol pct, with pores connected with each other to form an open pore structure. The formation of the pores was attributed to the expansion of interparticle pores in the pressed body during the TE reaction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the Fe-50Al foam showed that the Al 2p and O 1s binding energies were 74.5 eV and at 531.4 eV, respectively. The formation of a surface alumina layer in the early stages of the oxidation process resulted in the parabolic oxidation rate law, and the Fe-50Al foams exhibited an excellent resistance to oxidation at 650 °C in air. These results suggest that the synthesized Fe-Al foams represent promising materials for applications involving an oxidizing environment and high temperatures.