Glass-forming ability, thermal properties, and corrosion resistance of Fe-based (Fe, Ni, Mo, Cr)-P-C-B metallic glasses

•FeNiCrMoPCB BMGs with a diameter of 2.5 mm and good corrosion resistance are formed.•The BMGs exhibit large ΔTx up to 60 K and low Tg of below 690 K.•The BMGs show superior corrosion resistance in acid media to that of SUS316L steel.•The BMGs exhibit high strength of over 3 GPa with distinct plastic strain of 1.2%.

Co-addition of appropriate Mo, Cr and Ni in the Fe80P12C4B4 alloy not only enhances the thermal stability of the supercooled liquid and glass-forming ability (GFA) but also reduces the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the Fe-based metallic glass. The Fe55Ni15Cr7Mo3P12C4B4 bulk metallic glass (BMG) exhibits a low Tg of 690 K, large supercooled liquid region (ΔTx) of 60 K, and high GFA with a critical diameter of 2.5 mm. The co-addition of Mo, Cr and Ni remarkably improves the corrosion resistance of the BMGs in 1 M HCl and 0.5 M H2SO4 solutions, which is superior compared to the SUS316L stainless steel. The alloys also possess high compressive yield strength of ~ 3.01 GPa with distinct plastic strain of ~ 1.2%. The good combination of low Tg, large ΔTx, high GFA, excellent corrosion resistance and mechanical properties makes the developed (Fe, Ni, Cr, Mo)80P12C4B4 BMGs show great promise as anti-corrosion materials suitable for thermoplastic processing.