Cu-alloying effect on crystallization kinetics of Ti₄₁Zr₂₅Be₂₈Fe₆ bulk metallic glass

Abstract Compared with Ti₄₁Zr₂₅Be₂₈Fe₆ bulk metallic glass, (Ti₄₁Zr₂₅Be₂₈Fe₆)₉₃Cu₇ glassy alloy possesses a much narrower supercooled liquid region but the glass-forming ability is dramatically improved. Isochronal and isothermal differential scanning calorimetry measurements were adopted to investigate Cu-alloying effect on the crystallization transformation kinetics of Ti₄₁Zr₂₅Be₂₈Fe₆ glassy alloy. It is found that Cu alloying increases the activation energies of Ti₄₁Zr₂₅Be₂₈Fe₆ glassy alloy for glass transition and crystallization in continuous heating. Moreover, the isothermal activation energy of (Ti₄₁Zr₂₅Be₂₈Fe₆)₉₃Cu₇ glassy alloy increases as process of crystallization transformation, while Cu-free alloy exhibits a contrary tendency. The addition of Cu also decreases the Avrami exponent of the base alloy, resulting in the suppression of crystal nucleation and growth.