Enhancement of glass-forming ability and bio-corrosion resistance of Zr–Co–Al bulk metallic glasses by the addition of Ag

Abstract

A novel Ni and Cu-free Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) system with enhancement of glass-forming ability (GFA) and bio-corrosion resistance was prepared by copper mold casting by the addition of Ag. It was found that the addition of Ag can considerably enhance the glass-forming ability, as indicated by the increase of the critical glass dimension from 3 mm diameter of the ternary system to over 10 mm in the alloy of Zr 53Co 18.5Al 23.5Ag 5. The bio-corrosion behaviors of the Zr-based BMGs in phosphate buffered solution (PBS) were investigated by electrochemical polarization at 310 K. It was found that the addition of appropriate amount of Ag can enhance the corrosion resistance of the BMGs. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicated that the formation of an Al 2O 3-enriched passive film is mainly responsible for the high corrosion resistance of Ag-bearing alloy in phosphate buffered solution.