Institute of Metals Division - Self-Diffusion of Iron in Nickel Ferrite (TN)

In the oxidation of pure iron above 700°C the overall rate is determined mainly by the rapid growth of wiistite, through which iron ions can diffuse rapidly.' Nickel added to the iron progressively decreases the stable range of composition of wustite.' When enough nickel is added to eliminate wiistite as a stable phase, the spinel is the fast growing phase. This investigation was undertaken to test the hypothesis that nickel substituting for iron in magnetite might decrease the rate of spinel growth by reducing the iron mobility. Nickel ferrite boules grown by the flame fusion process were purchased from the Linde Co. Chemical analysis gave an atomic ratio of iron to nickel of 2.88 and showed no other cations. They were cut into discs and ground to give flat, parallel faces. The experimental procedure employed was like that of Eisen and Birchenall in which the distribution of radioactivity diffused in from a vapor deposited surface layer was determined by counting the residual activity through a series of ground faces. The diffusivities were calculated in a manner consistent with the requirements discussed by Condit and BirchenallP The details will be given in connection with a more extensive spinel diffusion study now in progress. The results of the measurements are shown in the figure in comparison with earlier data on magnetite1 and zinc ferrite. The uncertainties arising from scatter in the activity vs distance relationship and uncertainties in the temperatures are shown by flags. Despite the scatter it is clear that substitution of a considerable part of the iron in magnetite by nickel, in this case about one third decreases the iron mobility substantially. sachs' determination of the distribution of iron and nickel in scales on iron-nickel alloys appears to show that nickel is less mobile than iron in the spinel layer. It is evident, therefore, that nickel plays several roles in reducing the oxidation rate of iron-nickel alloys. 1) It reduces progressively the stability range of wiistite. ' 2) It reduces progressively the stability range of the iron-nickel spinel phase in terms of the variation in cation to anion ratio.' 3) As shown in this investigation, it reduces the cation mobility in the spinel phase which is the faster growing phase in the absence of wiistite. The fe was obtained from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The research was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (ARDC) under contract number AF 18(600)-967.