Rejuvenated Amorphous Alloys: Processing Methods, Microstructures and Mechanical Properties

Amorphous alloys are considered promising structural and engineering materials owing to exceptional properties such as high strength/hardness and large elastic limit resulted from disordered atomic structures. However, the intrinsic brittleness and lack of work-hardening severely restrict their widespread application in structural fields. To address these limitations, rejuvenation strategies have recently been proposed and rapidly developed. These approaches can be broadly categorized into mechanical processing, thermal rejuvenation, and alternative techniques. Rejuvenation not only can be applied to a wide range of alloy compositions including martensitic metallic glass, but also retains alloys disordered amorphous structures. Nevertheless, each route still faces unresolved engineering challenges. While enhanced plasticity and strain-hardening have been reported in rejuvenated glassy alloys, issues such as premature mechanical failure and the competition and transition between aging and rejuvenation are frequently observed. The transition from brittle to ductile behavior as well as variations in mechanical performance has been closely linked to microstructural features, particularly atomic clusters. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the relationship among rejuvenation processes, microstructural evolution, and mechanical properties is essential. This work aims to provide a comprehensive and critical review of the current progress in this field.