Transformation-mediated and relaxation-assisted macroscopic tensile plasticity with strain-hardening in metallic glass

Fan Hu, Qiang Luo (), Mingjuan Cai, Qianqian Wang, Jingxian Cui, Yusha Luo, Bo Sun, Zhijun Guo () and Baolong Shen ()
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Fan Hu: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials
Qiang Luo: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials
Mingjuan Cai: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials
Qianqian Wang: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials
Jingxian Cui: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials
Yusha Luo: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials
Bo Sun: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials
Zhijun Guo: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials
Baolong Shen: Southeast University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Metallic glasses (MGs) possess the merits of high strength and a large elastic limit. However, they suffer from little tensile ductility in the inhomogeneous deformation regime due to strain softening and shear localization. In this work, we report a substantial increase in tensile plastic strain (εp) from 2.8% to 10% in a Fe-based metallic glass (MG) via non-affine thermal strain (NTS), accompanied by a significant intensity enhancement and a considerable decrease in activation energy (32%) of the β-relaxation. Notably, pronounced strain hardening is observed during tension. These extraordinary tensile properties are structurally attributed to the NTS-promoted formation of a chemical-fluctuation-mediated network structure consisting of interconnected Fe-rich medium-range orders (MROs) and surrounding metalloid-rich clusters, as well as the subsequent temperature and stress-induced unique evolution of the multiscale structural heterogeneities. Specifically, the stress-induced unique MRO formation, α-Fe nanocrystallization, and the irreversible relaxation-induced structural ordering jointly interact with shear banding to transform strain softening into hardening, leading to excellent ductility. These findings demonstrate that simultaneous relaxation-assisted and transformation-mediated deformation stabilizes the inhomogeneous plastic flow under tension, overcoming the ductility bottleneck of MGs.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65120-4

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