Plasticity and microstructure of Zr–Cu–Al bulk metallic glasses

A small variation in the composition of (Zr50Cu50)100−xAlx bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) results in a markedly different mechanical behavior. In contrary to the previous reports, no chemical or structural inhomogeneities were observed in the sample that exhibits a large plastic strain, indicating that the plasticity of Zr–Cu–Al BMGs is not inherently related to their microstructural features. The shear bands in plastic Zr47.5Cu47.5Al5 show localized nanocrystallization whereas the macroscopically brittle Zr45Cu45Al10 shows no indications of nanocrystallization during deformation.