Glass formation and magnetic properties of Fe-based metallic glasses fabricated by low-purity industrial materials

Fe-based metallic glasses of (Fe74Nb6B20)100-xCrx (x=1, 3, 5) with high glass forming ability (GFA) and good magnetic properties were prepared using low-purity raw materials. Increasing Cr content does not significantly change glass transition temperature and onset crystallization temperature, while it enhances liquidus temperature. The addition of Cr improves the GFA of the (Fe74Nb6B20)100-xCrx glassy alloys compared to that in Cr-free Fe-Nb-B alloys, in which the supercooled liquid region (ΔTx), Trg and γ are found to be 50-54 K, 0.526-0.538, and 0.367-0.371, respectively. The (Fe74Nb6B20)100-xCrx glassy alloys exhibit excellent soft magnetic properties with high saturation magnetization of 139-161 A·m2/kg and low coercivity of 30.24-58.9 A/m. Present Fe-Nb-B-Cr glassy alloys exhibiting high GFA as well as excellent magnetic properties and low manufacturing cost make them suitable for magnetic components for engineering application.