Designing novel bulk metallic glass composites with a high aluminum content

The long-standing challenge for forming Al-based BMGs and their matrix composites with a critical size larger than 1 mm have not been answered over the past three decades. In this paper, we reported formation of a series of BMG matrix composites which contain a high Al content up to 55 at.%. These composites can be cast at extraordinarily low cooling rates, compatible with maximum rod diameters of over a centimetre in copper mold casting. Our results indicate that proper additions of transition element Fe which have a positive heat of mixing with the main constituents La and Ce can appreciably improve the formability of the BMG matrix composites by suppressing the precipitation of Al(La, Ce) phase resulted from occurrence of the phase separation. However, the optimum content of Fe addition is strongly dependant on the total amount of the Al content in the Al-(CoCu)-(La, Ce) alloys.