Understanding of glass-forming ability of Zr-Cu alloys from the perspective of vibrational entropy of crystalline phases

Glass formation is of fundamental importance for understanding the origin of glass transition and the design of new bulk metallic glasses. However, its nature has been extremely elusive and intangible over the past few decades. By combining experimental techniques and molecular dynamics simulations, we explored the mystery of glass-forming ability from the perspective of vibrational entropy in the prototypic Zr-Cu alloys. Our results suggest that the excess vibrational entropy of crystalline states and the low-frequency vibration modes can disclose the underlying physics behind good glass formers. The former works as an excellent indicator of glass formability to guide the more efficient composition design of novel glasses. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

Glass formation is crucial for understanding glass transition and designing new bulk metallic glasses. By combining experiments and simulations, this study explores the mystery of glass-forming ability from the perspective of vibrational entropy in Zr-Cu alloys. The results reveal that excess vibrational entropy in crystalline states and low-frequency vibration modes can disclose the underlying physics of good glass formers, providing guidance for more efficient composition design of novel glasses.