Experimental study on the phase formation for the Mg-B system in Ar atmosphere

We have investigated the phase formation for the Mg-B system in an argon atmosphere using the couple diffusion technique and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The diffusion experimental result indicates that the solid-solid reaction between magnesium and boron is carried out by magnesium diffusing into boron. DSC curves with different stoichiometric compositions of magnesium and boron as Mg_xB₂ (x = 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 3.0) show that the solid-solid reaction, Mg melting and liquid-solid reaction occur in turn for the Mg-B system during rising temperature. Based on the results of DSC and couple diffusion, a reaction model for the Mg-B system was discussed.