Peculiarities of the martensitic transformation in (Cu0.5Zr0.5)100-xAlx glass-forming alloys

We systematically study peculiarities of the martensitic transformation (MT) in (Cu0.5Zr0.5) 100-xAlx glass-forming alloys focusing on the Cu46Zr46Al8 one. We obtain that an addition of aluminum to the binary Cu50Zr50 alloy leads to a decrease of both the martensite and the austenite start temperatures. The former reaches the room temperature area for the Cu46Zr46Al8 alloy. The martensitic transition proceeds as two-stage transformation of the CuZr B2 phase in two monoclinic phases (P21/m and Cm). The proceeding of the MT depends on annealing temperature. It is also shown that fast quenching of the samples in liquid nitrogen leads to the same MT as observed at slow cooling.