Molecular dynamics simulation of minor Zr addition on short and medium-range orders of Cu-Zr metallic glass

The compositional dependence of the atomic structure and glass-forming ability (GFA) was systematically studied in a binary alloy series Cu_100-xZr_x (x = 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0, 10.0) by molecular dynamics simulations. Several structural analysis techniques are adopted to find a direct relationship between the atomic structures and GFA by minor Zr addition. The simulation results confirm that the difference among the critical cooling rates proves the enhancement of GFA. It is found that the Zr addition can enhance the icosahedra short-range order (SRO). From another side, in terms of MRO, the addition of Zr can enhance interpenetrating icosahedra connection which will give rise to the Bergman-icosahedra medium-range order, resulting in a more stable, more compact, and more complex structures, which is responsible for the enhanced GFA in CuZr alloys. Furthermore, the five-fold symmetry governs the formation of the amorphous state and may behave as a principal indication of the formation of the glass state during the cooling process. We also found a critical Zr content of 3%, below which the effect of Zr on the structures is not obvious. However, when the Zr content is higher than 3%, the Zr can rapidly change the structures of the liquid and glassy structure. These results are helpful for understanding the GFA of CuZr alloys.