Extra plasticity governed by shear band deflection in gradient metallic glasses

Abstract Inspired by gradient materials in nature, advanced engineering components with controlled structural gradients have attracted significant research interest due to their exceptional combinations of properties. However, it remains challenging to generate structural gradients that penetrate through bulk materials, which is essential for achieving enhanced mechanical properties in metallic materials. Here, we propose a heat treatment engineering protocol to realize a controllable structural gradient in bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). By adjusting the holding time of cryogenic thermal cycling, a series of BMGs with gradient-distributed free volume contents from internal to external can be synthesized. Both mechanical testing and atomistic simulations demonstrate that the spatial gradient can endow BMGs with extra plasticity without sacrificing their ultrahigh strength. Such an enhanced mechanical property is governed by the gradient-induced deflection of shear deformation that fundamentally suppresses the unlimited shear localization on a straight plane that would be expected in BMGs without such a gradient.