A great expansion in the number of alloy compositions known to give bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) has occurred in recent years. This progress is reviewed, and factors contributing to glass-forming ability are discussed. Practical strategies for pinpointing compositions with optimum glass-forming ability are presented, with examples of their use. Consideration is also given to the wide range of p...

In this work we study the structural evolution of Al and Fe based metallic glass compositions. The samples were obtained as ribbons by melt-spinning, their glass stability and crystallization were analyzed by calorimetry and dilatometry, structural changes were followed by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction during annealing throughout glass transition and crystallization. The synchrotron res...

The relaxation spectrum of glassy solids has long been used to probe their dynamic structural features and the fundamental deformation mechanisms. Structurally complicated glasses, such as molecular glasses, often exhibit multiple relaxation processes. By comparison, metallic glasses have a simple atomic structure with dense atomic packing, and their relaxation spectra were commonly found to be...

Shear bands generally initiate strain softening and result in low ductility of metallic glasses. In this Letter, we report high-resolution electron microscope observations of shear bands in a ductile metallic glass. Strain softening caused by localized shearing was found to be effectively prevented by nanocrystallization that is in situ produced by plastic flow within the shear bands, leading t...

The mechanical properties of monolithic metallic glasses depend on the structures at atomic or subnanometer scales, while a clear correlation between mechanical behavior and structures has not been well established in such amorphous materials. In this work, we find a clear correlation of (27)Al NMR isotropic shifts with a microalloying induced ductile-to-brittle transition at ambient temperatur...

How atoms move in metallic glasses and liquids is an important question in discussing atomic transport, glass formation, structural relaxation and other properties of metallic glasses. While the concept of free-volume has long been used in describing atomic transport, computer simulations and isotope measurements have shown that atomic transport occurs by a much more collective process than ass...

We experimentally investigate the role of sample size on the viscosity of a bulk metallic glass by examining pressure driven flows in nm-scale confinement. A Pt57.5Cu14.7Ni5.3P22.5 metallic glass in the super-cooled liquid state is extruded into isolated cylindrical pores of varying nano-scale dimensions, down to 40 nm. The apparent viscosity of the liquid as a function of sample size is determ...

When heated to a temperature close to glass transition temperature, metallic glasses (MGs) begin to crystallize. Under deformation or particle irradiation, crystallization occurs at even lower temperatures. Hence, phase instability represents an application limit for MGs. Here, we report that MG membranes of a few nanometers thickness exhibit properties different from their bulk MG counterparts...

Metallic glasses are disordered materials that offer the unique ability to perform thermoplastic forming operations at low thermal budget while preserving excellent mechanical properties such as high strength, large elastic strain limits, and wear resistance owing to the metallic nature of bonding and lack of internal defects. Interest in molding micro- and nanoscale metallic glass objects is d...

The emergence of size-dependent mechanical strength in nanosized materials is now well-established, but no fundamental understanding of fracture toughness or flaw sensitivity in nanostructures exists. We report the fabrication and in situ fracture testing of ∼70 nm diameter Ni-P metallic glass samples with a structural flaw. Failure occurs at the structural flaw in all cases, and the failure st...