Amorphization of crystalline structures is a ubiquitous phenomenon in metals, ceramics, and intermetallic compounds. Although the amorphous phase generally has a higher Gibbs free energy than its crystalline counterpart, there are many methods by which amorphization can be generated. The requirement to create an amorphous phase from a solid crystalline one is to increase its free energy above a critical level which enables this transition. In this review, our focus is on amorphization induced by mechanical deformation which can be imparted by a variety of means, prominent among which are tribological processes, severe plastic deformation, nanoindentation, shock compression, diamond anvil cell and ball milling/mechanical alloying. The deformation introduces defects into the structure, raising its free energy to the level that it exceeds the one of the amorphous phase, thus propitiating conditions for amorphization. Experimental observations of amorphization in metallic alloys, intermetallic compounds, ionically and covalently bonded materials are presented and discussed. There is also an observation of amorphization in a biological material: it is generated by impact deformation of hydroxyapatite in the mantis shrimp club. We also focus on the fundamental mechanisms of plastic deformation of amorphous materials; this is a closely linked process by which deformation continues, beyond amorphization, in the new phase. Observations and analyses of amorphization are complemented by computational simulations that predict the process of mechanically-induced amorphization and address the mechanisms of this transformation.

晶体结构的非晶化是金属、陶瓷和金属间化合物中普遍存在的现象。尽管非晶相通常比其结晶相具有更高的吉布斯自由能，但有许多方法可以产生非晶化。从固体结晶相中产生无定形相的要求是将其自由能增加到能够实现这种转变的临界水平以上。在这篇综述中，我们的重点是由机械变形引起的非晶化，这种非晶化可以通过多种方式进行，其中突出的是摩擦学过程、严重的塑性变形、纳米压痕、冲击压缩、金刚石砧座和球磨/机械合金化。变形将缺陷引入结构，将其自由能提高到超过非晶相之一的水平，从而促进了非晶化的条件。介绍并讨论了金属合金、金属间化合物、离子和共价键合材料中非晶化的实验观察结果。在生物材料中还观察到非晶化：它是由螳螂虾俱乐部中的羟基磷灰石的冲击变形产生的。我们还关注非晶材料塑性变形的基本机制；这是一个密切相关的过程，在这个过程中，除了非晶化，变形还在新阶段继续进行。非晶化的观察和分析得到了计算模拟的补充，这些模拟预测了机械诱导的非晶化过程并解决了这种转变的机制。