Effects of B Addition on Glass Formation, Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Resistance of the Zr66.7−x Ni33.3B x (x = 0, 1, 3, and 5 at.%) Metallic Glasses

Abstract

The effects of B addition on glass formation, mechanical properties and electrochemical corrosion of Zr66.7−xNi33.3Bx (x = 0, 1, 3, and 5 at.%) glassy ribbons have been investigated. The results reveal that the B addition can improve the glass forming ability and obviously raise the thermal stability of the Zr-Ni-B metallic glasses. The 1 at.% B addition exhibits the most positive effect on enhancing the microhardness of Vickers-type (HV) by 13.83%. In addition, Zr63.7Ni33.3B3 possesses the best plasticity in the nanoindentation test. The electrochemical test and microstructural observation show that the moderate B addition effectively enhances the corrosion resistance of the Zr-Ni-B metallic glasses in different solutions. The 3 at.% B addition is beneficial to improve the corrosion resistance in the 0.5 M NaCl solution. But in the 1 M HCl and 2 M NaOH solutions, the better effect is induced by the 1 and 5 at.% B addition. Moreover, the Zr-Ni-B metallic glasses exhibit active dissolution behavior in the chloride- and hydrogen-containing solutions, but passivation occurs in the 2 M NaOH solution.