Foreword

Excerpt

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) have been discovered and studied extensively over a 20-year development. The defect-free microstructure (without dislocations and grain boundaries) makes BMGs exhibit many unique properties, such as superior strength, excellent scratch and wear resistance, good corrosion resistance, etc. Although BMGs can be considered as potential structural and functional materials to be used in new industrial products with high performance, such as microgears, yokes for linear actuators, golf-club heads, and electronic casings, it is of significance to find more new applications for BMGs. Recently, catalytically-active BMGs were found to be formed with nanometer-sized features, which would be excellent for applications in fuel cells, batteries, and sensors. For example, the BMG micro-fuel cell demonstrates excellent performance and fabrication capability, compared to traditional micro-fuel cell designs. …