Enhanced thermal stability and hardness of Zr46Cu39.2Ag7.8Al7 bulk metallic glass with Fe addition

We studied the effects of Fe addition on the thermal stability and hardness of (Zr46Cu39.2Ag7.8Al7)100−yFey (y = 0–7) bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). Both the supercooled liquid region (ΔTx) width and crystallization temperature of the (Zr46Cu39.2Ag7.8Al7)100−yFey BMGs increase with Fe addition; and the largest ΔTx of 114 K is achieved at y = 4. The average free volume decreases with increasing Fe content. The hardness increases with increasing Fe content, which may result from the decrease in free volume and the precipitation of nanocrystalline phases from glassy matrix due to Fe addition.