Effect of Cu/Zr content ratio on the thermal stability of Cu–Zr-rich Cu–Zr–Al BMGs

Abstract

The Gibbs free energies of formation, ΔG a, of Cu–Zr-rich Cu–Zr–Al bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) in a broad composition region have been calculated, and correlated with their crystallization temperatures Tx . It is found that the Cu/Zr content ratio plays an important role in the thermal stability of the BMGs. A linear relationship between Tx and −ΔG a is found to be valid for Cu–Zr-rich Cu–Zr–Al BMGs having the same Cu/Zr content ratio, in a narrow composition region. The results could be helpful for improving the accuracy of predicting Tx for BMGs.