Crystallization and corrosion resistance of Cu50Zr45Al5 bulk amorphous alloy

The influences of crystallization on the corrosion resistance of a Cu50Zr45Al5 bulk amorphous alloy in 1N HCl, 3% NaCl and 1N H2SO4 solutions, respectively, were studied. Partially and fully crystallized states were achieved by controlled annealing, and the corrosion resistances of those annealed states were compared with that of the amorphous state by immersion test and potentiodynamic measurements. From the results of the corrosion tests, it was found that the partially crystallized alloy exhibits improved corrosion resistance, whereas full crystallization results in deteriorated corrosion resistance compared with that of the as-cast amorphous state.