Direct measurement of the kinetics of volume and enthalpy relaxation of an Au-based bulk metallic glass

Structural relaxation of glasses below their glass transition is a well-studied phenomenon that still poses several open issues. With the advent of bulk metallic glasses with exceptionally low glass transition temperatures, new options are available that are based on the experimental assessment of the time dependence of several different thermodynamic quantities by direct measurements with high accuracy. In this contribution the first direct measurement of the isothermal relaxation of the volume and the enthalpy of an Au-based bulk metallic glassformer are reported and discussed with respect of the characteristics describing the underlying processes. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.