Mg55Y15Cu30 metallic glass powders were prepared by the mechanical alloying of pure Mg, Y, and Cu after 10 h of milling. The thermal stability of these Mg55Y15Cu30 amorphous powders was investigated using the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Tg ,Tx , and ΔTx are 442 K, 478 K, and 36 K, respectively. The as-milled Mg55Y15Cu30 powders were then consolidated by vacuum hot pressing into disk compacts with a diameter and thickness of 10 mm and 1 mm, respectively. This yielded bulk Mg55Y15Cu30 metallic glass with nanocrystalline precipitates homogeneously embedded in a highly dense glassy matrix. The pressure applied during consolidation can enhance thermal stability and prolong the existence of amorphous phase within Mg55Y15Cu30 powders.

Solid-state processing via the bulk mechanical alloying enables us to directly fabricate Mg2X semi-conductive material performs. Precise control of chemical composition leads to investigation on the dilution and enrichment of X in Mg2X. Two types of solid-state reactivity are introduced: e.g. synthesis of Mg2Si from elemental mixture Mg – Si is nucleation-controlled process while synthesis of Mg2Sn from Mg – Sn, diffusion-controlled process. Thermoelectricity of these Mg2X is evaluated for discussion on the validity and effectiveness of this new PM route as a reliable tool for fabrication of thermoelectric compounds.