New ternary Ni–Ta–Sn bulk metallic glasses

A new ternary Ni-base bulk metallic glass (BMG) system, Ni–Ta–Sn, was explored. There exists a wide BMG forming regime, in at.%, 33<Ta<38 and 2<Sn<9 with cast BMG rods of at least 1 mm diameter. The crystallization temperature being among the highest in Ni-based BMGs, 762–671 °C decreases with Sn content. These BMGs have wide super-cooled liquid region 57–61 K. They show high hardness, typically HV∼1000, and a compressive fracture strength 856–1192 MPa. The elastic strain limit is 0.0237–0.0266. The potentiodynamic studies in a solution of 12 M HCl show a passivation current density about 0.18 A m−2 for Ni58Ta36Sn6 BMG in the anodic region revealing a good corrosion resistance.