Y effects on magnetic and mechanical properties of Fe-based Fe–Nb–Hf–Y–B bulk glassy alloys with high glass-forming ability

The effects of partial substitution of Y for Fe on the glass-forming ability (GFA), mechanical, thermal and magnetic properties of quinary Fe73−xNb4Hf3YxB20 (x = 0–3 at.%) alloys were investigated. The replacement of 1–3 at.% Fe by Y increased thermal stability of the supercooled liquid in the Fe–Nb–Hf–Y–B alloys, enabling the fabrication of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with diameters up to 4 mm from the original 2 mm. Properties of Fe73−xNb4Hf3YxB20 BMGs were measured, yielding a rather high saturation magnetization of 1.05–1.22 T, low coercive force of 1.6–3.6 A/m, high compressive fracture strength of 3200–3490 MPa, Yong's modulus (E) of 177–190 GPa and compressive strain before failure ∼2%. Furthermore, the role of Y addition on the GFA as well as mechanical and magnetic properties is also discussed.