Ductile Zr-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses by Controlling Heterogeneous Microstructure from Phase Competition Strategy

In this paper, we prepare the alloys of Zr_41.2Ti_13.8Cu_12.5Ni₁₀Be_22.5, Zr_44.4Ti_14.8Cu_14.3Ni_11.5Be₁₅, and Zr₃₈Ti_12.7Cu_9.6Ni_7.7Be₃₂ to show the effects of alloy composition on the inhomogeneity structures and mechanical properties of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). Compared with the best glass former Zr_41.2Ti_13.8Cu_12.5Ni₁₀Be_22.5, some nanoscale inhomogeneity structures can be induced by shifting the compositions towards a primary phase in the alloys of Zr_44.4Ti_14.8Cu_14.3Ni_11.5Be₁₅ and Zr₃₈Ti_12.7Cu_9.6Ni_7.7Be₃₂. The room temperature compression tests reveal that theBMGs contained nanoscale inhomogeneity structures exhibit superior mechanical properties with the high strength of 1780 MPa and especially a remarkable plastic strain of over 9%. These findings provide a new perspective to enhance the ductility of BMGs by introducing nanoscale inhomogeneity structures based on the phase competition strategy.