Effect of different sources of oxygen on the thermal stability and crystallization behavior of the Cu66Zr34 metallic glass

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 128; no. 1
• Main Authors: Liu, Binbin, Liu, Caiyun, Jiang, Xin, Zhen, Shuying, You, Li, Ye, Feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alloys; Amorphous materials; Applied physics; Bonding strength; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Crystallization; Low vacuum; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials science; Metallic glasses; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Oxidation; Oxygen; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thermal stability; Thin Films; Zirconium dioxide; Oxygen; Electrical resistivity; Metallic glass; Crystallization
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-021-05224-y

Oxygen impurity dramatically influences the thermal stability and properties of metallic glasses (MGs). Oxygen was introduced to the base Cu
66
Zr
34
alloy (AM) through deliberate addition (AMO), low vacuum fabrication (AMC) and oxidation (AO), respectively. Adding 2 at% oxygen leads to the formation of ZrO
2
in the AMO alloy, while Cu
51
Zr
14
is further seen in the AMC sample. The amorphous phase decomposes into Cu, ZrO
2
and residual glassy phase after being oxidized in the air for 12 months. Higher
T
x
accompanied by wider
ΔT
x
was obtained for the AMO and AMC alloys indicating better thermal stability compared to the AM alloy due to the stronger bonding between Zr and oxygen. The crystallization behavior changes from a single-step process for the AM and AMC samples to a double-step process for the AMO and AO alloys, indicating the crystallization mode changes from simultaneous precipitation of Cu
51
Zr
14
, Cu
8
Zr
3
and Cu
10
Zr
7
to a successive stepwise transformation with Cu
51
Zr
14
as the primary phase. Such alteration further affects the variations of electrical resistivity and phase morphology. The findings imply varied effects on both the thermal stability and the crystallization behavior from the different sources of oxygen in the Cu
66
Zr
34
MG. The appropriate oxygen addition in the melt before quenching benefits the thermal stability, but oxidation introduced oxygen deteriorates it. The different sources of oxygen also change crystallization behavior in a much variable manner.