Bulk metallic glass–graphite composites

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) are a recently developed class of amorphous alloys which display very high yield strength, but, unfortunately, very little plastic strain before fracture. Here we present a novel graphite-particle-reinforced BMG composite which possesses a greatly improved combination of yield strength and plastic strain. The best results are seen in samples containing 3–10 vol.% graphite, where a plastic strain of up to 18.5% has been reached without sacrificing the high yield strength of 1.85 GPa of the matrix material.