Enhancement of plasticity by cryogenic thermal cycling on Fe80P13C7 bulk amorphous alloy

•The effect of cryogenic thermal cycling on the plasticity of Fe80P13C7 was studied.•An intermediate upper temperature corresponds to a largest enhancement of plasticity.•The underlying mechanism is ascribed to the more disordered high-energy states. The effect of cryogenic thermal cycling on the plasticity of Fe80P13C7 bulk amorphous alloy was investigated. The plastic strain increases from 1.7% of the as-cast samples to 5.4% of the cryogenic thermal cycling treated ones, while the yielding strength does not have an obvious deterioration. The enhancement of plasticity can be ascribed to the rejuvenation induced more disordered high-energy states in structure, which corresponds to a creation of excess free volume and therefore helps to the formation of multiple shear bands. This work provides an effective method for the modification of plasticity of Fe-based bulk amorphous alloys.