Role of A phase separating element on the plasticity of amorphous alloys : Experiment and atomic simulation study

Abstract

A series of experiments demonstrated that an addition of Ag into (Cu0.5 Zr0.5)100-x Agx amorphous alloys alters the plasticity of the alloys in a systematic manner. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) conducted on the (Cu0.5 Zr0.5)100-x Agx alloys exhibited the presence of compositional modulation, indicating that compositional separation had occurred. The presence of compositional modulation was also validated using a combined technique of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation. In this study, the effect of Ag on the compositional separation in (Cu0.5 Zr0.5)100-x Agx bulk amorphous alloys was investigated to understand the role played by the phase-separating element on the plasticity of the amorphous alloys.