Devitrification of nano-scale icosahedral phase in (Ti0.33Zr0.33Hf0.33)50(Ni0.5Cu0.5)40Al10 alloy with enlarging supercooled liquid region

This letter reports devitrification of novel multicomponent (Ti0.33Zr0.33Hf0.33)50(Ni0.5Cu0.5)40Al10 alloy, developed by equiatomic substitution. The supercooled liquid region of the (Ti0.33Zr0.33Hf0.33)50(Ni0.5Cu0.5)40Al10 alloy increased with progress of the first exothermic reaction. The supercooled liquid region of 57 K in the as-quenched state was observed to increase to 108 K after heat treatment for 180 min at 743 K. The corresponding microstructure after heat treatment for 180 min at 743 K consisted of a homogeneous distribution of the nano-scale icosahedral phase embedded in the remaining amorphous matrix. Therefore, it is feasible to understand that the devitrification of the nano-scale icosahedral phase occurs in the (Ti0.33Zr0.33Hf0.33)50(Ni0.5Cu0.5)40Al10 alloy by the primary crystallization.