Synthesis of Fe75Cr5(PBC)20 bulk metallic glasses with a combination of desired merits using industrial ferro-alloys without high-purity materials

Novel Fe75Cr5(PBC)20 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have been developed using industrial ferro-alloys without high-purity materials by conventional copper mold casting. Among them, the Fe75Cr5P9B4C7 BMG pinpoints the best glass-forming ability (GFA) with a critical diameter (dc) of 2 mm. This alloy exhibits good soft-magnetic properties with a high saturation magnetization (Ms) of 1.03 T and a low coercivity (Hc) of 2.3 A m−1, as well as excellent corrosion resistance in 3 wt% NaCl, high compressive fracture strength (σf) of 3.19 GPa and high Vickers microhardness (Hv) of 8.39 GPa. The success of synthesizing the present Fe-based BMG with superior properties and low cost not only provides a guideline for designing new cost-effective Fe-based BMGs with a combination of desired merits, but also makes the BMG excellent prospects for industrial applications.