Modulation of β-relaxation by modifying structural configurations in metallic glasses

beta-relaxation and mechanical properties of La-based metallic glasses are investigated by modulation of quenching rate of the MGs. We find that the quenching rate has a remarkable effect on the beta-relaxation behaviors and the mechanical properties of the metallic glasses. The beta-relaxation shows a strong dependence on the cooling rate of the sample preparation, indicating that there is a correlation between the concentration of the potential flow units and the beta-relaxation behaviors. The results imply that the beta-relaxation is closely correlated with the inhomogeneous microstructure or the density of the potential flow units in the metallic glasses. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.