Metallic glass nanostructures: Forming strategies and functional applications

Metallic glasses (MGs) have an atomic structure with multi-components uniform distributed in a disordered way, which endows them excellent physical and chemical properties, as well as the unique thermoplastic formability. In the past decades, significant achievements have been made to develop forming strategies on the nanoscale and explore functional applications of MG nanostructures in healthcare, micro-engineering, information accumulation, optoelectronics and neuroscience. This review discusses the various physical mechanisms underlying different nanofabrication techniques of MGs. The article opens with versatile forming strategies including thermoplastic embossing, thermoplastic drawing, electrochemical fabrication, and sputter deposition. Subsequently, the recent design solutions that provide insight into distinct functional applications, involving fuel cell devices, electrochemical devices, flexible electronic devices, optoelectronic and neuroscientific devices. Finally, dilemmas in rapid fabrication and large-scale practical application of MGs nanostructures, as well as glorious perspectives are analyzed.