Quinary metallic glass alloys

A metallic glass object having a thickness of at least one millimeter in its smallest dimension formed of an alloy comprising:

• zirconium in the range of from about 52.5 to 57.5 atomic percent;
• about 5 atomic percent of metal selected from the group consisting of titanium and niobium;
• from about 7.5 to 12.5 atomic percent of zinc;
• copper in the range of from about 15 to 19.3 atomic percent;
• and
• a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel and cobalt in the range of from about 11.6 to 16.4 atomic percent.

A metallic glass object having a thickness of at least one millimeter in its smallest dimension formed of an alloy comprising:

• zirconium in the range of from about 56 to 58 atomic percent;
• about 5 atomic percent niobium;
• zinc in the range of from about 7.5 to 12.5 atomic percent;
• copper in the range of from about 13.8 to 17 atomic percent;
• and
• a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel and cobalt in the range of from about 11.2 to 14 atomic percent.

A composite material comprising:

• particles or fibers of material selected from the group consisting of diamond, cubic boron nitride, refractory metal carbides, nitrides, carbonitrides, oxides and silicides, silicon, refractory metals and intermetallic compounds, pyrolytic carbon, graphite, boron, and silica base glass;
• and
• a matrix for the particles or fibers comprising a metallic glass formed of an alloy comprising at least five elements including:
• zirconium in the range of from 45 to 65 atomic percent;
• from 5 to 15 atomic percent of zinc;
• from 4 to 7.5 atomic percent of metal selected from the group consisting of titanium and niobium;
• and
• a balance substantially of metal selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, cobalt and up to 10 atomic percent iron wherein the ratio of copper to the sum of nickel and cobalt is in the range of from 1:2 to 2:1.