Effect of Mo on properties of the industrial Fe–B-alloy-derived Fe-based bulk metallic glasses

The experimental results concerning the effects of Mo on the glass-forming ability (GFA), thermal stability, and mechanical, anticorrosion, and magnetic properties of an (Fe71.2B24Y4.8)96Nb4 bulk metallic glass (BMG) were presented. An industrial Fe–B alloy was used as the raw material, and a series of Fe-based BMGs were synthesized. In BMGs with the Mo contents of approximately 1at%–2at%, the cast alloy reached a critical diameter of 6 mm. The hardness and fracture strength also reached their maximum values in this alloy system. However, the anticorrosion and magnetic properties of the BMGs were not substantially improved by the addition of Mo. The low cost, good GFA, high hardness, and high fracture strength of the Fe-based BMGs developed in this work suggest that they are potential candidates for commercial applications.