Structural study of Zr-based metallic glasses

Structures of Zr₇₀Ni₂₀Al₁₀, Zr₇₀Cu₂₀Al₁₀, Zr₇₀Cu₃₀ and Zr₇₀Ni₃₀ amorphous alloys were analyzed by high-energy X-ray diffraction. The relatively stable Zr₂Cu amorphous alloy shows a local atom arrangement different from the Zr₂Cu crystalline phase. By contrast, the less stable Zr₇₀Ni₃₀ amorphous alloy has a structure similar to Zr₂Ni. In the Zr₇₀Cu₂₀Al₁₀ metallic glass, Zr-Al nearest neighbor pairs are introduced in the amorphous structure. In the Zr₇₀Ni₂₀Al₁₀ metallic glass, the strong correlation between Zr-Ni pairs is drastically modified by the formation of Zr-Al pairs. The presence of Zr-Al pairs in the ternary alloys suppresses the crystallization and stabilizes the glassy state.