The synergistic enhancement of strength-plasticity of Zr53Cu30Ni9Al8 bulk metallic glass by adding carbon nanoparticles

Bulk metallic glass (BMG) has attracted much attention due to its high strength, elastic limit, hardness, and corrosion resistance. However, improving its plasticity without compromising its strength is still challenging. In this study, Zr 53 Cu 30 Ni 9 Al 8 bulk metallic glass/carbon nanoparticle composites (BMG/C) were fabricated using the copper mold suction casting method, which exhibits good strength-plasticity synergistic enhancement behaviors in compression modes. With a carbon content is 5 % (at.%), the plasticity was up to 6.81%, which was 9 times higher than that of the Zr 53 Cu 30 Ni 9 Al 8 matrix. Additionally, the yield strength and fracture strength were 1.95 GPa and 2.12 GPa, representing increases of 10.8% and 8.7% compared to the metallic glass matrix, respectively. The pinning effect of carbon nanoparticles can inhibit the propagation of shear bands and promote their branching and multiplication under compression, thus enhancing the plasticity of matrix material. Moreover, the hard phase can withstand higher stress concentration without deforming, thereby enhancing the yield strength and fracture strength of matrix material. This study achieves the synergistic enhancement of strength-plasticity in Zr 53 Cu 30 Ni 9 Al 8 BMG, providing a reference for the preparation of bulk metallic glass matrix composites (BMGCs) with comprehensive mechanical properties.