Significantly improved plasticity of bulk metallic glasses by introducing quasicrystal within high energy glass matrix

Abstract

Many studies consistently report that quasicrystal-BMG (bulk metallic glass) composites usually exhibit limited plasticity. In this work, however, we demonstrate that quasicrystal embedded in high energy glass matrix could remarkably improve the plasticity of BMGs. By the method, a Zr-based quasicrystal-BMG composite successfully exhibits >50.0% compressive plasticity and >6.6% bending strain, which is much higher than ∼3.0% compressive plasticity in the monolithic as-cast BMG. After introducing quasicrystal within high energy glass matrix, the lower formation energy and difficulty to propagate of shear bands contribute to the enhanced plasticity. This work provides a new strategy to overcome the brittleness of BMGs and greatly promotes the practical value of quasicrystal in improving plasticity of BMGs.