Evidence of liquid-liquid phase transition in Zr-Cu-Al melts and its link to glass-forming ability

WX Dong and SN Liu and ZD Wu and JL Ma and Y Ren and XL Wang and S Lan, APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS, 127, 191903 (2025).

DOI: 10.1063/5.0299273

Liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) has been found in two Zr-Cu-Al glass-forming metallic melts above the liquidus temperature, characterized by thermophysical, structural, and density changes by in situ high-energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction, electrostatic levitation, and molecular dynamics simulation. A correlation between LLPT and glass-forming ability has been established in the Zr-Cu-Al liquids. The better glass former, Zr46Cu46Al8, exhibits more pronounced LLPT behavior accompanied by significant density and medium-range order changes, compared to the average glass former, Zr56Cu36Al8. Our work shows how LLPT impacts the structural and thermodynamic properties of glass-forming melts at high temperature, shedding light on the origin of glass formation.

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