Shock-induced reaction of molybdenum silicide from pretreated powders by mechanical alloying

The pretreated powders by mechanical alloying were used as a starting material for the shock reactive synthesis through the one-stage gun for various flyer velocities. Through XRD, SEM and EMPA, their shock reactivity was compared with that from the elemental powder mixture. Although only partial reactions were observed in the latter, the pretreated powders were fully reacted into molybdenum silicides. The points to be noted are that (1) non-equilibrium phase with a variety of non-stoichiometric compositions was also synthesized together with Si-rich MoSi₂, and (2) the amount of this non-equilibrium phase was reduced with increasing flyer velocity.