Thermal stability and hydrogen-induced softening in Zr57Al10Cu15.4Ni12.6Nb5 metallic glass.

The effects of hydrogen absorption on the structure, mechanical and thermal properties of Zr 57 Al 10 Cu 15.4 Ni 12.6 Nb 5 amorphous metal were investigated. Structural analysis, using X-ray diffraction, showed that prominent peak shift towards lower angles (from 37.55° to 37.47°) after 1 h of hydrogen charging in 0.1 M NaOH solution which indicates a volume expansion of the amorphous structure. By means of nanoindentation tests, we found that hydrogen-induced glass plasticity could occur in Zr-based metallic glass even for high Zr content (> 50 at.%). The thermal stability against crystallization, evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), has been improved by hydrogen absorption. The onset crystallization temperature was increased by 6 °C to 10 °C due to slight hydrogen addition. The resistance to hydrogen embrittlement combined with high thermal stability gives rise to the possibility of the practical use of Zr 57 Al 10 Cu 15.4 Ni 12.6 Nb 5 amorphous alloy as a good metal membrane operating at temperatures below 400 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]