Tailoring microstructure and properties of CuZrAl(Nb) metallic-glass–crystal composites and nanocrystalline alloys obtained by flash-annealing.

• Flash-annealing of Cu 47.5 Zr 47.5 Al 5 and Cu 46.5 Zr 48 Al 4 Nb 1.5 metallic-glass ribbons. • Cu 10 Zr 7 precipitates enhance mechanical performance of obtained composites materials. • Nanocrystalline materials have good corrosion resistance in NaCL and H 2 SO 4 solutions. Metallic-glass–crystal composites of Cu 47.5 Zr 47.5 Al 5 and Cu 10 Zr 7 -reinforced Cu 46.5 Zr 48 Al 4 Nb 1.5 nanocrystalline materials are obtained by flash-annealing of metallic-glass ribbons. In situ high-energy X-ray diffraction reveals the deformation mechanism of the alloys upon tensile loading. For the composites and nanocrystalline materials, a small remaining amount of the metallic glass and/or the presence of the Cu 10 Zr 7 phase significantly increase the value of yield stress while maintaining good tensile ductility. In general, the obtained materials exhibit a reversible martensitic transformation (MT) between the B2 CuZr and B19′/B33 phases during tensile loading and unloading. However, the reversibility of MT depends on the alloy composition, crystalline phases, and the number of (un)loading cycles. Serrated-like fluctuations on tensile stress-strain curves and a sign of twinning in the Cu 10 Zr 7 crystals are found after yielding in the Cu 10 Zr 7 -reinforced Cu 46.5 Zr 48 Al 4 Nb 1.5 nanocrystalline materials. Electrochemical measurements show that Cu 46.5 Zr 48 Al 4 Nb 1.5 nanocrystalline material has good corrosion resistance in NaCl and H 2 SO 4 solutions, even better than the parent metallic glasses in some aspects. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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