Glass formation and crystallization behavior in Mg65Cu25Y10-xGdx (x=0, 5 and 10) alloys

The glass forming ability and crystallization behavior of Mg65Cu25Y10-xGdx (x = 0, 5 and 10) alloys have been investigated. The glass forming ability (GFA) is significantly improved when Y in Mg65Cu25Y10 is substituted with Gd. Ternary Mg65Cu25Gd10 bulk metallic glass (BMG) with diameter of at least 8 mm was successfully fabricated by conventional Cu-mold casting method in air atmosphere. Mg-2(Y, Gd) is the first competing crystalline phase against the glass formation in the Mg65Cu25Y10-xGdx (x = 0, 5) alloys, while Mg2Cu and Cu2Gd are the competing crystalline phases in the Mg65Cu25Gd10 alloy. Therefore, the suppression of the formation of Mg-2(Y, Gd) during cooling from the liquid improves the GFA significantly. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.