Thermophysical properties and atomic arrangement of liquid Zr75− <i>x</i> Ni25Al <i>x</i> glass-forming alloys investigated by electrostatic levitation experiments and molecular dynamics simulations
Abstract
The thermophysical properties and atomic arrangement of liquid Zr75−xNi25Alx (x = 8, 11, 15, 19, and 24) alloys were systematically investigated using an electrostatic levitation technique and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The density measurements revealed a distinct non-monotonic evolution in the relative density difference between liquid and crystalline solid states, where Zr60Ni25Al15 exhibited a minimal difference of 0.16%, reflecting a high degree of liquid–solid structural similarity. Furthermore, the viscosity measurements confirmed that this composition possessed exceptionally sluggish dynamics for viscous flow, evidenced by the maxima in both viscosity (83.9 mPa s) and activation energy (102.9 kJ mol−1) at the liquidus temperature. A correlation between the thermophysical properties and the atomic arrangement of Zr–Ni–Al alloys was elucidated by MD simulations, attributing the unique property extrema to both the strong Zr–Al bond formation and an optimal Al concentration that effectively suppresses Al–Al clustering.
Article Details
Journal Info
Applied Physics Letters
American Institute of Physics
Authors (4)
Y. J. Jin
MOE Key Laboratory of Materials Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University , Xi'an 710072,
D. L. Geng
MOE Key Laboratory of Materials Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University , Xi'an 710072,
Y. J. Zhang
MOE Key Laboratory of Materials Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University , Xi'an 710072,
B. Wei
School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University 1 , Xi’an 710072,