Effects of minor Sn addition on the glass formation and properties of Fe-metalloid metallic glasses with high magnetization and high glass forming ability

• Fe-metalloid bulk metallic glasses with high glass-forming ability and high saturation magnetization are synthesized.
• Minor addition of Sn can effectively improve the glass-forming ability of Fe-based bulk metallic glasses.
• The effects of Sn addition in Fe-based bulk metallic glasses are systematically evaluated.

Effects of minor Sn addition on the glass-forming ability (GFA) as well as thermal, magnetic, and mechanical properties of Fe–P–C–B–Si bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with compositions of Fe80−xSnxP9C8B2Si1 (x=0, 1, 2 and 3 at%) were investigated. The minor Sn substitution for Fe effectively enhances the GFA. The fully glassy rods can be produced up to 3 and 3.5 mm in diameter for the alloys with 1 and 2 at% Sn addition, respectively. Moreover, these Sn-containing BMGs exhibit good soft magnetic properties including high saturation magnetization (Ms) of 1.46−1.51 T, low coercivity (Hc) of 3.8−5.0 A/m and good mechanical properties, i.e., high fracture strength (σf) above 3.2 GPa and limited plastic strain (εp) above 0.4%. The combination of large GFA, good soft magnetic and mechanical properties as well as low cost makes the Fe–Sn–P–C–B–Si BMGs promising as soft magnetic materials for industrial applications.