Based on the construction of TTT diagrams by isothermal DSC measurements, the thermal stabilities of Zr65Cu27.5Al7.5 glassy alloys containing 0.68% and 0.06% [O] (molar fraction) were compared. The changing tendencies of the thermal stabilities reflected in the TTT-diagrams were validated by XRD analyses and TEM observations. The crystallization kinetic characteristics of oxygen-induced I-phase and Zr2Cu phase in Zr65Cu27.5Al7.5 glassy alloy were discussed. It is found that oxygen promotes the precipitation of I-phase and retards the formation of Zr2Cu phase. If the pre-crystallization event for oxygen-induced I-phase is permitted and the main-crystallization event for Zr2Cu phase is taken as the thermal stability criterion, the alloy with higher oxygen content has longer onset time for crystallization within a rather large supercooling temperature range. The possibility for the preparation of Zr65Cu27.5Al7.5 glassy alloy-based composite containing oxygen-induced I-phase was also forecasted.
Long-term thermal stability of a series of Zr-based metallic glasses with different oxygen contents below their glass transition temperatures was compared based on their deductive continuous-heating-transformation diagrams created by using the corollary of Kissinger analysis method. It is found that the influence of oxygen on the long-term thermal stability of Zr-based metallic glasses exhibits at lower temperature is different from that on their short-term thermal stability presented at higher temperature. For each kind of the Zr-based metallic glasses, there is a critical heating rate, φ , which corresponds to a critical c temperature, Tc. As heating rate is smaller than φ c and onset devitrification temperature is below Tc, the glass with higher oxygen content will have longer incubation period for onset devitrification. The values of φ c and Tc are related with the glasses’ reduced glass transition temperature Trg. The improving effect of oxygen impurity on the long-term thermal stability of Zr-based metallic glasses was discovered.
