The optical floating zone technique was utilized to purify chromium and a single-phase chromium-silicon alloy in this work. The impurity content (carbon, nitrogen and oxygen) can be reduced by decreasing the withdrawal speed of samples during the zone refining process and coarsening of grains was also observed. The effect of the impurities on mechanical property was determined by hardness measurements at room temperature, and the hardness of both, chromium and the chromium-silicon alloy were decreased with lower concentrations of nitrogen and oxygen. In contrast, brittle features were observed in samples prepared by arc melting process with higher concentrations of impurities.

The optical floating zone technique was utilized to purify chromium and a single-phase chromium–silicon alloy in this work. The impurity content (carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) can be reduced by decreasing the withdrawal speed of samples during the zone refining process, and the coarsening of grains was also observed. The effect of the impurities on mechanical properties was determined by hardness measurements at room temperature, and the hardness of both chromium and the chromium–silicon alloy decreased with lower concentrations of nitrogen and oxygen. In contrast, brittle material behavior is observed in samples prepared by arc melting process with higher concentrations of impurities. To use chromium–silicon alloys for future high-temperature applications, their brittle behavior must be improved, which can be achieved by reducing their carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen concentrations.