Ni-free Ti-based Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs) have gained a lot of attention for biomaterial applications recently. Compared with conventional Ti alloy, Ni-free Ti-based BMGs have shown exciting properties such as high corrosion resistance, good biocompatibility, high strength, and low Young’s modulus making them suitable for hard-tissue implants, thanks to their amorphous nature and lack of grain boundaries.^1,2 Furthermore, BMGs can be deformed by the thermoplastic net-shaping (TPN) technique, because the deformation behavior of BMGs changes from inhomogeneous deformation to homogenous Newtonian flow when heated up to the supercooled liquid region (SCLR).^2,3 This kind of viscous flow deformation can be utilized to create surface features by embossing BMGs with designed molds.^2–4 The Ti₄₀Zr₁₀Cu₃₄Pd₁₄Sn₂ alloy is based on the Ti₄₀Zr₁₀Cu₃₆Pd₁₄ alloy yet substituting Cu element with 2 at% of Sn to improve the glass forming ability and enlarges the range of the SCLR before crystallization.⁵ This work successfully imprinted various patterns from 300 µm wide grooves to 5 µm wide square humps. The three-dimensional topography of generated patterns was observed via scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The influence of TPN deformation on mechanical properties was characterized by nanoindentation. The microstructure and structural characteristics of surface features were inspected by transmission electron microscopy. The contact angle measurement was applied to quantify the effect of created patterns on wettability. This study aims to display the capability of the TPN technique mirroring the surface features on Ni-free Ti-based BMGs and how the properties change.

1. Liens, A. et al. On the Potential of Bulk Metallic Glasses for Dental Implantology: Case Study on Ti₄₀Zr₁₀Cu₃₆Pd₁₄. Materials 11, 249 (2018).

2. Bera, S. et al. Micro-patterning by thermoplastic forming of Ni-free Ti-based bulk metallic glasses. Materials & Design 120, 204–211 (2017).

3. Sarac, B. et al. Micropatterning kinetics of different glass-forming systems investigated by thermoplastic net-shaping. Scripta Materialia 137, 127–131 (2017).

4. Liu, Z., Liu, N. & Schroers, J. Nanofabrication through molding. Progress in Materials Science 125, 100891 (2022).

5. Calin, M. et al. Thermal Stability and Crystallization Kinetics of Ti₄₀Zr₁₀Cu₃₄Pd₁₄Sn₂ Bulk Metallic Glass. SSP 188, 3–10 (2012).