Physical origin of glass formation from multicomponent systems

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Computational Materials Science

Background:

• Glass formation is a fundamental challenge in materials science.
• Glass-forming ability (GFA) in multicomponent systems like metallic glasses is sensitive to composition but poorly understood.
• Existing theories lack a complete explanation for the physical origins of GFA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the physical origin of glass-forming ability (GFA) in metallic systems.
• To identify the key factors governing the difference in GFA among metallic alloys.
• To provide a mechanistic understanding for controlling GFA and phase-change material switching speeds.

Main Methods:

• Utilized molecular dynamics simulations to study three model metallic systems with varying GFA.
• Analyzed the driving force for crystallization and liquid-crystal interface tension.
• Investigated the relationship between interface tension, structural/compositional ordering, and crystal growth.

Main Results:

• All studied systems exhibited similar driving forces for crystallization.
• Significant differences in liquid-crystal interface tension were observed, correlating with GFA.
• Interface tension was found to be dependent on coupled structural and compositional ordering, influencing crystal growth.

Conclusions:

• Liquid-crystal interface tension is the dominant factor controlling GFA, rather than the crystallization driving force.
• Classical crystallization theories require modification to incorporate local ordering effects.
• Findings offer insights into the physical control of GFA in metallic alloys and phase-change material performance.