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Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Highly ordered noncrystalline metallic phase
Gabrielle G Long1, Karena W Chapman, Peter J Chupas
1X-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA. gglong@aps.anl.gov
Physical Review Letters
|July 19, 2013
Summary
Researchers characterized a unique metallic glass formed during rapid cooling. This novel noncrystalline solid exhibits atomic ordering without long-range symmetry, challenging existing material structures.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Solid State Physics
- Metallurgy
Background:
- Metallic glasses are amorphous alloys lacking long-range atomic order.
- Understanding the formation and structure of novel metallic glasses is crucial for developing advanced materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize a unique metallic glass formed from an aluminum-iron-silicon (Al-Fe-Si) melt.
- To investigate the formation mechanism and structural properties of this novel material.
Main Methods:
- Rapid cooling of an Al-Fe-Si melt.
- Experimental characterization to determine the material's structure.
- Analysis of nucleation, growth, and elemental partitioning.
Main Results:
- The metallic glass forms via nucleation and growth normal to a solid-melt interface.
- Elemental partitioning occurs during solidification.
- Experimental evidence confirms the absence of nanometer-sized polycrystalline grains.
Conclusions:
- The characterized material is not a conventional polycrystalline composite.
- This unique metallic glass represents a potentially new class of atomically ordered, isotropic, noncrystalline solids.
- The absence of long-range translational symmetry in this solid is a key characteristic.
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