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

Abstract The glass forming ability and crystallization behavior of Mg 65 Cu 25 Y 10− x Gd x ( x =0, 5 and 10) alloys have been investigated. The glass forming ability (GFA) is significantly improved when Y in Mg 65 Cu 25 Y 10 is substituted with Gd. Ternary Mg 65 Cu 25 Gd 10 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 Mg 65 Cu 25 Y 10− x Gd x ( x =0, 5) alloys, while Mg 2 Cu and Cu 2 Gd are the competing crystalline phases in the Mg 65 Cu 25 Gd 10 alloy. Therefore, the suppression of the formation of Mg 2 (Y, Gd) during cooling from the liquid improves the GFA significantly.