ZrTiO4 secondary phase effects on ductility and toughness of molybdenum alloys

•A novel of high ductility Mo-2.5 wt% ZrTiO4 alloy was design.•Ductility reaches the maximum at 2.5 wt% ZrTiO4 and the room temperature elongation is 25.4%•Mo-ZT alloy strength increases with higher ZrTiO4 secondary phase content.•The main mechanism of ductility improvement is small-sized sub-crystals are not formed in the molybdenum matrix.