Enhancement of glass-forming ability and mechanical property of Zr-based Zr-Al-Ni bulk metallic glasses with addition of Pd

The effects of partial substitution of Ni by Pd in the high-Zr-based Zr65Al10Ni25-xPdx (at.%, x = 0, 5 and 10) alloys on their glass-forming ability (GFA), crystallization kinetics and mechanical property were investigated. The critical diameter for glass formation is increased from 3 mm for Zr65Al10Ni25 alloy to 5 mm for Zr65Al10Ni15Pd10. An icosahedral quasicrystal phase precipitates in the amorphous matrix in the first crystallization step of Zr-Al-Ni-Pd BMGs, implying that strong icosahedral short/medium-range order (IS/MRO) may exist in the Pd-containing alloys. In additional, Pd-bearing Zr-based BMGs present a lower Avrami exponent n indicating the higher stabilization of the supercooled liquid. Moreover, the Zr-Al-Ni-Pd BMGs exhibit larger compressive plasticity, higher notch toughness and Poisson's ratio than those of Zr65Al10Ni25 alloy, which can be correlated with the existence of strong IS/MRO clusters in amorphous phase. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.