Cooling rate effects on the microstructure and phase formation in Zr51Cu20.7Ni12Al16.3 bulk metallic glass

A detailed transmission electron microscope (TEM) study has been conducted to investigate the microstructures of the Zr51Cu20.7Ni12Al16.3 metallic glass formed at different cooling rates. It has been found that the most competitive crystalline phase to the amorphous structure is an oxygen-stabilized FCC NiZr2-type phase, which in turn acts as the leading phase to trigger the formation of other crystalline phases in the slow-cooled alloy.