Liquid structures of metallic glass-forming binary Zr alloys

We have analyzed liquid structures of the binary Zr-TM (TM=Pd, Cu, Ni) alloys as a function of composition to investigate relations with their glass-forming abilities. High-energy x-ray (E=113 keV) diffraction experiments were performed and a conical nozzle levitation (CNL) technique was applied to achieve a containerless condition for highly reactive melts with high temperature. Structure information of the liquid alloys has been obtained with the aid of reverse Monte Carlo simulation. A shoulder was found at high-Q side of the second peak for the structure factor for Zr₇₀Pd₃₀ as well as Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ alloy Zr₇₀Cu₅₀ alloys, which can be indication of the formation of ISRO in the liquid alloys. Liquid Zr-Ni alloys shows an apparent difference in the structure factors between the Zr₇₀Ni₃₀ and the Zr₅₀Ni ₅₀ alloys, which can be associated with the formation of the chemical short range ordering, whereas the Zr-Pd alloys show a typical random distribution of atoms.