Multi-scale crystalline Cu globule dispersed Fe-based metallic glass formation by multi-step liquid phase separation

Cu crystalline globule dispersed Fe-based metallic glass was formed in Fe(60)Cu(10)Zr(10)B(20) and Fe(50)Cu(20)Zr(10)B(20) alloys. The size of Cu crystalline globules was in the range of 10 nanometer order to micrometer order, and these globules were formed by multi-step liquid phase separation. The combination of liquid phase separation to Fe-based and Cu-based liquids and metallic glass formation in Fe-Zr-B liquid led to the formation of a unique solidified structure that could not be formed through conventional solidification modes such as dendrite formation and eutectic and peritectic reactions. The size of the nanoglobules was controlled by the alloy composition. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.