Formation of Cu-Zr-M ternary bulk metallic glasses based on atomic clusters

Abstract

Ternary Cu-Zr-M (M= Al, Ti and Ag) bulk metallic glasses are investigated using a cluster line approach. New bulk metallic glass rods with compositions lying along the cluster line Cu5Zr6-M were fabricated by copper mould suction, where binary cluster Cu5Zr6 is an Archimedean octahedral antiprism, M being about 4∼13.2 at.% for Al, 8.3 at.% for Ti and 9 at.% for Ag. The relevant mechanism was discussed in the light of the cluster-plus-glue-atom model. © 2008 IOP Publishing Ltd.