Formation, properties, thermal characteristics, and crystallization of hard magnetic Pr–Al–Fe–Cu bulk metallic glasses

The Pr_55–xAl_12+xFe_33–yCu_y(0 ≤x≤ 5, 0 ≤y≤ 8) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) 5 mm in diameter and 100 mm in length were prepared by copper mold suction casting. Hysteresis loops of the Pr_55–xAl_12+xFe_33–yCuyBMGs and the corresponding Pr₅₅Al₁₂Fe₃₀Cu₃crystallized alloy were measured, and the results showed that the Pr_55–xAl_12+xFe_33–yCu_yBMGs are hard magnetic, while the completely crystallized Pr₅₅Al₁₂Fe₃₀Cu₃alloy is paramagnetic at room temperature. The thermal behavior and crystallization of the Pr₅₅Al₁₂Fe₃₀Cu₃BMG were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, and the results indicated that the Pr-based BMG has obvious glass transition and a wide supercooled liquid region up to 75 K. The crystallization activation energy for the Pr₅₅Al₁₂Fe₃₀Cu₃BMG is much smaller than that of Zr–Ti–Cu–Ni–Be BMG.