Nanocrystalline materials prepared through crystallization by ball milling

The process of mechanical milling of amorphous precursors can be used to produce bulk quantities of material with fine crystalline nanostructures. Here, the process and the factors which influence the quality of the materials produced are reviewed. The crystallization induced by mechanical milling and thermal annealing are compared and it is suggested that the induction of crystallization by ball milling may be a promising technique for preparing soft magnetic materials in powder form.