U-based metallic glasses with superior glass forming ability

By using Al as the third and B as the fourth but minor alloying elements for the U66.7Co33.3 basic metallic glass, a series of U-Co-Al(-B) alloys were designed. The quaternary U-Co-Al-B alloys exhibit significantly improved glass-forming ability (GFA) than previously reported U-based metallic glasses. Low fragility (∼24) is found for these new U-based metallic glasses. The improvement in GFA would result from denser atomic packing in the undercooled liquids due to the presence of small B atoms. Some U-Co-Al(-B) glasses showed corrosion resistance comparable to that of U64Co34Al2 glass, known for premium anti-corrosive performance among the unveiled U-based glasses.