Metallic Glasses

Dear Colleagues,

Metallic glasses, a family of metallic materials with metastable glassy states, are obtained by rapid cooling of liquid alloys. Because of their amorphous atomic structures, metallic glasses exhibit unique mechanical, physical, and chemical properties, which are superior to conventional metals’ and alloys’, within a wide range of potential applications.

With the combination of high strength, elasticity, and fracture resistance, bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have attracted tremendous research interest over the past few decades. However, low tensile ductility is still one of the key issues of BMGs in structural applications. Due to its high accuracy in replicating complicated mold shapes, the die casting technique has been successfully applied to produce BMG products. On the other hand, metallic glasses can also be formed into complex shapes, like plastics, in the supercooled liquid region, due to their high thermal-plastic forming abilities.

In addition to their unique mechanical properties, metallic glasses have also demonstrated interesting physical and chemical properties. For example, some metallic glasses have been found to have good magnetocaloric effects and display catalytic behavior, with potential for magnetic refrigeration or catalytic applications. In recent years, metallic glass thin films and coatings have also drawn much attention due to their potential engineering and biomedical applications.

Up to now, despite the encouraging achievements, the wide application of metallic glasses is still somewhat hindered by the mysterious physical origins of the unique properties, and by the difficulties in exploiting the alloys with benchmark performances. The wide range of studies will continue to further uncover the underlying physical meanings, and to expand the application potential of metallic glasses. Papers on recent advances, and review articles, particularly in regard to fundamental properties and the structural and functional applications of metallic glasses, are invited for inclusion in this Special Issue on "Metallic Glasses".

Prof. K.C. Chan
Prof. Dr Jordi Sort Viñas
Guest Editors

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