Influence of in situ synthesized TiC on thermal stability and corrosion behavior of Zr60Cu10Al15Ni15 amorphous composites

In situ synthesized TiC particles were prepared by a thermal explosion method. Adding “in situ synthesized” TiC into Zr60Cu10Al15Ni15 glass matrix to obtain amorphous matrix composites was achieved. The corrosion behavior of Zr60Cu10Al15Ni15 amorphous composites was evaluated using potentiodynamic polarization measurements in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution at room temperature. The results show that the microhardness and thermal stability are improved apparently, while the TiC (≤0.6 wt%) does not significantly affect the supercooled liquid behavior. Moreover, the corrosion resistance is improved apparently because the nanocrystals accelerate the diffusion of passive elements for faster formation of the protective passive film at nanocrystals/amorphous interfaces. However, when the TiC content is more than 0.6 wt%, both glass forming ability and corrosion resistance are reduced significantly.