Structural heterogeneity and plasticity of a Zr-based metallic glass modulated by high-temperature deformation

Metallic glasses (MGs) are of high strength but limited plasticity at room temperature (RT) due to localized shear in the intrinsically heterogeneous structure. Here, we investigate the variation of structural heterogeneity and plasticity of a Zr-based MG after high-temperature (T) tension under different stresses (σ) at 579 K (0.9Tg, where Tg is the glass transition temperature). The correlation length (ξ) of the heterogeneous structure and the average Young's modulus (E¯) increase with σ when σ is below 160 MPa; when σ exceeds 160 MPa, both ξ and E¯ decrease with σ, leading to the improvement of the plasticity. This research could be enlightening for improving the plasticity of MGs at RT through tuning their structural heterogeneity with high-T deformation.