Plasticity and rejuvenation of aged metallic glasses by ultrasonic vibrations

Metallic glasses (MGs) possess exceptional properties, but their properties consistently deteriorate over time, thereby resulting in increased complexity in processing. It thus poses a formidable challenge to the forming of long-term aged MGs. Here, we report ultrasonic vibration (UV) loading can lead to large plasticity and strong rejuvenation in significantly aged MGs within 1 s. A large UV-induced plasticity (UVIP) of 80% height reduction can be achieved in LaNiAl MG samples aged at 85% of its glass transition temperature (0.85Tg) for a duration of up to 1 month. The energy threshold required for UVIP monotonously increases with aging time. After the UV loading process, the aged samples show strong rejuvenation, with the relaxation enthalpy even surpassing that of as-cast samples. These findings suggest that UV loading is an effective technique for forming and rejuvenating aged MGs simultaneously, providing an alternative avenue to explore the interplay between the property and microstructures as well as expanding the application prospects of MGs.