The effect of holmium (Ho) addition on the glass-forming ability (GFA) and crystallization behaviors of Zr54Cu29Al10Ni7 bulk metallic glass (BMGs) were studied by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The characteristic temperatures and activation energies of crystallization were obtained from DSC data. Classical kinetic modes were used to evaluate the crystallization processes of Zr54Cu29Al10Ni7 and Zr48Cu29Ni7Al10Ho6 BMGs. The results showed that Ho addition reduces the activation energy in the original crystallization period of Zr-based BMG and improves the nucleation, which is due to the formation of simpler compounds, such as CuZr2, Cu2Ho, and Al3Zr5.
Keywords: Zr-based metallic glasses; activation energy; crystallization kinetic; holmium.