Plasticity improvement of an Fe-based bulk metallic glass by geometric confinement

In this paper, the effect of nickel coating on the plasticity of a brittle Fe-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) was investigated. By electrodepositing a nickel coating onto an Fe75Mo5P10C8.3B1.7 BMG, the plasticity of the BMG is shown to increase dramatically from ~ 0.5% to ~ 5.0%. Without reducing the strength of the BMG, the findings demonstrate that the electrodeposited nickel is an effective way to improve prominently brittle BMGs. The increased compressive plastic strain is believed to be attributed to the nucleation, intersection and bifurcation of multiple shear bands due to the exterior impedance of the surrounding coating.