Effects of Metalloid B Addition on the Glass Formation, Magnetic and Mechanical Properties of FePCB Bulk Metallic Glasses

Abstract

Low-cost Fe80P12−xC8Bx (x = 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 at.%) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with good soft magnetic and mechanical properties were prepared, and effects of metalloid B addition on the glass-forming ability (GFA) as well as thermal, magnetic, and mechanical properties of the BMGs were investigated. It was found that the proper B substitution for P improves the GFA of the Fe–P–C BMGs. The alloy with 2 at.% B addition manifests the highest GFA with critical diameter for glass formation of 2 mm. Besides, these BMGs exhibit good soft magnetic properties featured by high saturation magnetization of 1.35–1.57 T and low coercivity of 2.2–7.7 A/m as well as unique mechanical properties of high fracture strength of ∼3.3 GPa and visible plastic strain of 0.4%–2.5%. The combination of high GFA, good soft magnetic and mechanical properties as well as low cost makes the present Fe–P–C–B BMGs promising as soft magnetic materials for industrial applications.