Nano-amorphous—crystalline dual-phase design of Al80Li5Mg5Zn5Cu5 multicomponent alloy

The design of metallic materials with high strength, high ductility, and high thermal stability has always been a long-sought goal for the materials science community. However, the trade-off between strength and ductility remains a challenge. Here, we proposed a new strategy to design and fabricate bulk amorphous—crystalline dual-phase superior alloys out of the Al80Li5Mg5Zn5Cu5 multicomponent alloy. The nano-amorphous phase revealed unexpected thermal stability during fabrication and mechanical testing above the crystallization temperature. The true fracture strength of the Al80Li5Mg5Zn5Cu5 nano-amorphous-crystal dual-phase multicomponent alloy was increased from 528 to 657 MPa, and the true strain was increased from 18% to 48%. In addition, the alloy yielded a strength 1.5 times higher than that of the commonly used high-strength aluminum alloys at 250°C. This strategy provided a new approach and concept for the design of high-performance alloys to ensure strength—plasticity balance.