Formation, mechanical and electrical properties of Ni-based amorphous alloys and their nanocrystalline structure

A Ni-based amorphous alloy in Ni60Ti20Zr20 system was prepared by melting spinning. The glass transition temperature (T-g) was as high as about 760 K, the supercooled liquid region was quite wide, DeltaT(x) = 50 K (DeltaT(x) = T-x-T-g, T-x crystallization temperature), and the reduced glass transition temperature (T-g/T-m) was 0.60. The amorphous alloys exhibited a high tensile strength (sigma(f) = 1015 MPa) at room temperature. The electrical conductivity obeyed a-T-1/2 law over the range of 15 K < T < 300 K, which can be explained by an electron-electron interaction model. After annealing the amorphous alloy into primary crystallization, a nanocomposites consisted of metastable Ti2Ni and Zr2Ni nanophases with size less than 15 nm embedded in the amorphous matrix was appeared.