Nano icosahedral phase formation by crystallization of Zr-based ternary glassy alloys

The formation of an icosahedral phase is found as a primary phase in the Zr-Ni-M (M = Pd, Au, Pt), Zr-TM-Pd (TM = Fe, Co, Cu), Zr-Pt-Pd and Zr-Au-Pd ternary glassy alloys. The icosahedral particle has a nearly spherical morphology and grain size in the diameter range below 50 nm. The precipitation of the nano icosahedral phase from the glassy phase implies the existence of an icosahedral atomic configuration. The icosahedral atomic configuration is presumably stabilized by the mixed structure with two strong chemical affinities of two Zr-M pairs or Zr-M and Zr-Ni atomic pairs, which contributes to the restraint of long-range atomic rearrangements.