Developing Metallic Glass Matrix Composites with In Situ Crystalline Spheres through the Mechanism of Liquid-Liquid Phase Decomposition in Miscibility Gap of the Multicomponent Immiscible Alloys

The solidification characteristics of the immiscible alloys exhibit a unique opportunity in designing composites with spherical crystalline particles dispersed in the amorphous metal matrix. The multicomponent Al82.87Pb2.5Ni4.88Y7.8Co1.95 immiscible alloy has been designed. The ribbon samples of the multicomponent alloy were prepared by the rapid quenching. The microstructure was characterized and the phase constitution and transformation were studied. The as-quenched samples revealed the Al-based metallic glass matrix is embedded by the spherical crystalline Pb-rich particles. A method has been developed, based on the mechanism of the liquid-liquid phase decomposition in the miscibility gap of the multicomponent immiscible alloy, to produce spherical crystalline particles in the amorphous matrix. The microstructure evolution in the Al-based amorphous matrix composites has been discussed