Atomistic Simulation and Micro-Pillar Compression Studies on the Influence of Glass–Glass Interfaces on Plastic Deformation in Co-P Metallic Nano-Glasses

The glass-glass interfaces (GGIs) play an important role during the plastic deformation of metallic nano-glasses (NGs) such as Sc-Fe NGs. In this work, Co-P nano-glasses are synthesized by pulse electrodeposition. Their mechanical properties are characterized by micro-pillar compression and compared to those obtained by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The MD simulation reveals that the GGIs with a particular incline angle (about 50.0°) in the direction of applied uniaxial strain is preferable for the accommodation of localized plastic deformation in NGs. The results are consistent with those obtained by spherical aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, which reveals that most of shear bands form an angle of about 58.7° to the direction of compressive strain applied on the Co-P micro-pillar. The phenomena are explained with the differences in chemical composition and atom diffusion in the glassy grain interiors and in the GGI regions. This work sheds some light on the deformation mechanisms of NGs and provides guidelines for designing NGs with improved mechanical properties.