In this paper, we report the formation of a series Zr-(Cu,Ag)-Al bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with diameters at least 20 mm and demonstrate the formation of about 25 g amorphous metallic ingots in a wide Zr-(Cu,Ag)-Al composition range using a conventional arc-melting machine. The origin of high glass-forming ability (GFA) of the Zr-(Cu,Ag)-Al alloy system has been investigated from the structural, thermodynamic and kinetic points of view. The high GFA of the Zr-(Cu,Ag)-Al system is attributed to denser local atomic packing and the smaller difference in Gibbs free energy between amorphous and crystalline phases. The thermal, mechanical and corrosion properties, as well as elastic constants for the newly developed Zr-(Cu,Ag)-Al BMGs, are also presented. These newly developed Ni-free Zr-(Cu,Ag)-Al BMGs exhibit excellent combined properties: strong GFA, high strength, high compressive plasticity, cheap and non-toxic raw materials and biocompatible property, as compared with other BMGs, leading to their potential industrial applications.

An intrinsic plastic Cu(45)Zr(46)Al(7)Ti(2) bulk metallic glass (BMG) with high strength and superior compressive plastic strain of up to 32.5% was successfully fabricated by copper mold casting. The superior compressive plastic strain was attributed to a large amount of randomly distributed free volume induced by Ti minor alloying, which results in extensive shear band formation, branching, interaction and self-healing of minor cracks. The mechanism of plasticity presented here suggests that the creation of a large amount of free volume in BMGs by minor alloying or other methods might be a promising new way to enhance the plasticity of BMGs.

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By using a combination of state-of-the-art experimental and computational methods, the high glass forming ability ͑GFA͒ of Cu 46 Zr 46 Al 8 alloy is studied from the view of its atomic packing. Three-dimensional atomic configuration is well established. It is found that Al atoms almost homogeneously distribute around Cu and Zr atoms without segregation, causing the local environment around Cu and Zr atoms in Cu 46 Zr 46 Al 8 bulk metallic glass different from that of the major competing phase of Cu 10 Zr 7 . Furthermore, the addition of Al not only increases the amount of icosahedronlike clusters but also makes them more homogeneous distribution, which can enhance the GFA by increasing the structural incompatibility with the competing crystalline phases.

Highlights d Catalytic activity of G9a but not H3K9me2 functions in maintaining DNA methylation d G9a regulates chromatin states and transcription through distinct mechanisms d G9a maintains chromatin loops and TADs boundary strengths d H3K9me2 prevents aberrant CTCF and cohesin binding, particularly at retrotransposons

On monolithic Ni-Nb metallic glass films, we experimentally revealed 6.6% elastic strain limit by in-situ transmission electron microscopy observations. The origin of high elastic strain limit may link with high free volume in the film, causing the rearrangement of loosely bonded atomic clusters (or atoms) upon elastic deformation. This high elastic limit of metallic glass films will shed light on new application fields for metallic glasses, and also trigger more studies for deformation mechanism of amorphous materials in general.

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