Experimental investigation of comprehensive performance by tailoring the proportion of late transition metals in quinary Fe-Co-Ni-Si-B amorphous alloys

Abstract

We fabricated the Fe-Co-Ni-Si-B multi-principal element alloys by vacuum melt-spinning method. The effects of late transition metals proportion in quinary alloy ribbons on the formation, phase structure, thermal stability, microhardness, corrosion resistance and soft magnetic properties were investigated. The melt-spun structure consists of an amorphous single phase for all the specimens. The surfaces of glassy ribbons are rather flat and flawless and the average surface roughness is 0.351 nm or below. The initial crystallization temperature (T_x) and supercooled liquid region (ΔT_x) of alloy system decrease by degrees with increasing Co and Ni content, showing the maximum values of 753.0 K and 60.0 K for Fe₆₀Co₁₀Ni₁₀Si₆B₁₄ alloy. But the glass transition temperature (T_g) seems to barely change and maintain approximately 692.0 K. All the as-received alloy ribbons exhibit good bending ductility and acceptable Vickers microhardness ranging from 671 to 785 HV_0.5. The amorphous alloy ribbons present a gradually wide passive potential range (ΔE) with the decrease of Fe content, but the corrosion current density (I_corr) becomes larger. The smallest I_corr value is 1.785 μA·cm^-2 for Fe₆₀Co₁₀Ni₁₀Si₆B₁₄ alloy and the widest ΔE value is about 0.272 V for Fe₂₆Co₂₇Ni₂₇Si₆B₁₄ alloy. The saturation magnetization of these glassy alloys reduces from 165.0 to 112.0 emu/g as the Fe content decreases. Meanwhile, the coercivity also changes from 14.25 to 6.70 A/m. This paper offers a brand-new perspective to understand the role of late transition metals on the various physicochemical properties of quinary Fe-Co-Ni-Si-B amorphous alloys.