Microscopic structure and dynamics of glass forming Zr2Co melts and the impact of different late transition metals on the melt properties

Abstract

We studied the short-range order and the atomic dynamics of stable and undercooled binary Zr2Co alloy melts as well as their density and viscosity. The containerless processing technique of electrostatic levitation was used to achieve deep undercooling and to avoid contaminations. Static structure factors are determined by combining this technique with neutron and high energy X-ray diffraction. Co self-diffusion coefficients are measured by quasielastic neutron scattering. Our results reveal that the short-range order of the Zr2Co melts closely resembles that previously observed for Zr64Ni36. We consider this as the origin of the very similar melt dynamics of these two alloys at same temperatures. On the other hand, the difference in the structure and dynamics when compared with those of Zr2Cu and Zr2Pd shows clearly that not only the atomic sizes, but also electronic properties or chemical bonding have an important influence on the melt properties of Zr-based glass forming melts.