Glass-Forming Ability and Thermal Stability of Ti–Zr–Cu–Pd–Si Bulk Glassy Alloys for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The thermal properties, glass forming ability (GFA) and mechanical properties of a series of Ti 40 Zr 10 Cu 40-x Pd 10 Si x (x = 0, 1,2) bulk glassy alloys were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and compression test. The bulk glassy alloys are expected to be used as biomedical materials because of the absence of toxic elements such as Ni, Al and Be. The glass-forming ability and thermal stability of the Ti-Zr-Cu-Pd alloy can be improved by a small amount of Si addition. The critical diameters for glass formation are 5 mm for both Ti 40 Zr 10 Cu 39 Pd 10 Si 1 and Ti 40 Zr 10 Cu 38 Pd 10 Si 2 alloys. A large supercooled liquid region of 65 K was obtained for the Ti 40 Zr 10 Cu 38 Pd 10 Si 2 bulk glassy alloy. The bulk glassy alloys have higher compressive strength of over 1900 MPa and lower Young's modulus below 85GPa as compared with conventional biomedical Ti alloys.