Enhanced plasticity of a Fe-based bulk amorphous alloy by thin Ni coating

A thin Ni coating well adhering on a Fe81Mo1P7.5C5.5B2Si3 bulk amorphous alloy (BAA) has been successfully prepared by electroless plating. It has been found that the plastic strain of the BAA is significantly increased to 8% (28 times enhanced) by the thin Ni coating. It shows that the coating with nanograin could promote the nucleation of shear bands, constrain the propagation of them and change the flow serration into a self-organized critical state, which drastically increase the plasticity of the BAA.