Glass formation of Zr-Cu-Ni-Al bulk metallic glasses correlated with L → Zr2Cu + ZrCu pseudo binary eutectic reaction

Using a metallographic approach, we pinpointed the best glass former and its composites containing the primary Zr2Cu and ZrCu crystalline phases in the Zr-Cu-Ni-Al alloy system. The present alloy system can be considered as the Zr2Cu-ZrCu pseudo binary eutectic, and the glass formation is dependent on the competition between the glass phase and the pseudo binary eutectic reaction (L → Zr2Cu + ZrCu). These findings will aid the location of the best glass formers and their composites in the multi-component alloy systems.