Thermal stability and hydrogen-induced softening in Zr57Al10Cu15.4Ni12.6Nb5 metallic glass

The effects of hydrogen absorption on the structure, mechanical and thermal properties of Zr57Al10Cu15.4Ni12.6Nb5 amorphous metal were investigated. Structural analysis, using X-ray diffraction, showed that prominent peak shift towards lower angles (from 37.55° to 37.47°) after 1 h of hydrogen charging in 0.1 M NaOH solution which indicates a volume expansion of the amorphous structure. By means of nanoindentation tests, we found that hydrogen-induced glass plasticity could occur in Zr-based metallic glass even for high Zr content (> 50 at.%). The thermal stability against crystallization, evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), has been improved by hydrogen absorption. The onset crystallization temperature was increased by 6 °C to 10 °C due to slight hydrogen addition. The resistance to hydrogen embrittlement combined with high thermal stability gives rise to the possibility of the practical use of Zr57Al10Cu15.4Ni12.6Nb5 amorphous alloy as a good metal membrane operating at temperatures below 400 °C.