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The Scavenging Effect of Different Rare-Earth Elements in the Low-Purity Zr50Cu40Al10 Alloy

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Abstract

Glass-forming alloys are very sensitive to oxygen contaminations. Here, the oxygen-scavenging effect of five rare-earth elements (REEs) was studied when added to the Zr50Cu40Al10 alloy, synthesized from commercially available zirconium. The effects of precise REEs additions (Y, Sc, Lu, Gd, Nd) with respect to the measured oxygen content, based on the stoichiometric relationship in the M2O3 oxide, are reported. Additionally, the influence of double and triple REE-to-oxygen ratios on the critical diameter (Dc) and other glass-forming ability (GFA) indicators were investigated. To evaluate the GFA and phase transformations during heating, differential thermal analysis was performed along with neutron diffraction. The combination of these two techniques allowed to identify crystallization products and distinguish the differences in phase transformations of low and high-oxygen-content alloys. Microstructural analysis was carried out by means of electron microscopy (SEM, STEM), supported by X-ray diffraction. The best oxygen scavengers were found to be rare earths that form cubic sesquioxides, i.e., Y, Sc, and Lu, allowing to increase Dc in the high-oxygen Zr50Cu40Al10 alloy from 2.5 mm up to 8 mm (double-stoichiometric concentration of Y-to-oxygen). Our results indicate that low-purity alloys can be easily vitrified, highlighting their potential for wide commercialization.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education Republic of Poland under Contract No. 16.16.110.663. K.W. was supported by the EMPAPOSTDOCS-II program that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement Number 754364.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059, Krakow, Poland

    Krzysztof Pajor, Bogdan Rutkowski & Tomasz Kozieł

  2. Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059, Krakow, Poland

    Łukasz Gondek

  3. Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Wołoska 141, 02-507, Warsaw, Poland

    Piotr Błyskun

  4. Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109, Berlin, Germany

    Manfred Reehuis

  5. EMPA, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures, Feuerwerkerstrasse 39, 3602, Thun, Switzerland

    Krzysztof Wieczerzak

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  1. Krzysztof Pajor
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Appendix

Appendix

See Figures A1, A2, A3, A4, and A5 and Table A1.

Fig. A1
figure 12

SEM-BSE images of Zr50Cu40Al10 alloy doped with scandium with stoichiometric 2/3 (a) Dc = 4 mm and (b) D = 5 mm, double-stoichiometric 4/3 (c) Dc = 4 mm and (d) D = 5 mm and triple-stoichiometric 6/3 (e) Dc = 5 mm and (f) D = 6 mm

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Fig. A2
figure 13

SEM-BSE images of Zr50Cu40Al10 alloy doped with lutetium with stoichiometric 2/3 (a) Dc = 3 mm and (b) D = 4 mm, double-stoichiometric 4/3 (c) Dc = 5 mm and (d) D = 6 mm and triple-stoichiometric 6/3 (e) Dc = 6 mm and (f) D = 7 mm

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Fig. A3
figure 14

SEM-BSE images of Zr50Cu40Al10 alloy doped with neodymium with stoichiometric 2/3 (a) 3 mm, double-stoichiometric 4/3 (b) 3 mm and triple-stoichiometric 6/3 (c) Dc = 3 mm and (d) D = 4 mm

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Fig. A4
figure 15

SEM-BSE images of Zr50Cu40Al10 alloy doped with gadolinium with stoichiometric 2/3 (a) 3 mm, double-stoichiometric 4/3 (b) 3 mm and triple-stoichiometric 6/3 (c) Dc = 3 mm and (d) D = 4 mm

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Fig. A5
figure 16

Neutron diffraction patterns of Zr50Cu40Al10 alloy with (a) low; (b) high oxygen level. Patterns taken from each temperature regions: 1—573 K, 2—833 K (LO) and 793 K (HO), 3—953 K, 4—1113 K, 5—1273 K

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Table A1 Crystal Structures of the Studied Sesquioxides
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Pajor, K., Rutkowski, B., Gondek, Ł. et al. The Scavenging Effect of Different Rare-Earth Elements in the Low-Purity Zr50Cu40Al10 Alloy. Metall Mater Trans A 53, 2902–2925 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-022-06714-1

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