Atomic-scale Nb heterogeneity induced icosahedral short-range ordering in metallic glasses

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2021.08.046

Abstract

Abstract:

The intrinsic origins and formation of atomic-scale structure in multicomponent alloys remain largely unknown owing to limited simulations and inaccessible experiments. Herein, we report the formation of three-dimensional periodicity from a disordered atomic-scale structure to an imperfect/perfect ordered cluster and finally to long-range translational and rotational symmetry coupled with Nb heterogeneity. Significant atomic-scale structural clustering and atomic arrangements involving solvent or solute atoms simultaneously occurred during isothermal annealing. A close relationship between atomic-scale structural evolution and composition variation has important implications in depicting the chemical and topological packing during the early crystallization stage in metallic glasses. This work can provide a comprehensive understanding of how short-range orders evolve into long-range periodicity and will further shed light on the origins and nature of metallic glasses.

Key words: Metallic glasses, Isothermal annealing, Atomic-scale, Structural ordering, Nb heterogeneity

Yuhui Zhu, Weizhen Wang, Yuanyuan Song, Shiming Zhang, Hong Li, Aimin Wang, Haifeng Zhang, Zhengwang Zhu. Atomic-scale Nb heterogeneity induced icosahedral short-range ordering in metallic glasses[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2022, 108: 73-81.

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1. X-ray diffraction patterns for the samples in as-cast state and isothermally annealed under different conditions.

Fig. 2. HRTEM images for the samples in the as-cast state (a) and isothermally annealed at 410 °C for (b) 15 min, (c) 30 min, (d) 45 min. the insets are corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns.

Fig. 3. Auto-correlation analysis for the samples in (a) as-cast state and isothermally annealed at (b) 360 °C for 15 min, (c) 410 °C for 15 min, and (d) 410 °C for 30 min. The corresponding dimension of each segmented image is 1.271 × 1.271 nm2. (e) Statistical results and variations of structural ordering under different annealing conditions.

Fig. 4. Localized atomic ordering observed from the IFFT-filtered images in the as-cast state (a) and isothermally annealed at 410 °C for (b) 15 min, (c) 30 min, and (d) 45 min, respectively. (e)-(h) Corresponding FFT diffraction patterns.

Fig. 5. (a) Atomic resolution high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) image of samples annealed at 410 °C for 15 min. (b) and (c) Corresponding IFFT image and FFT diffraction pattern, respectively. (d)-(i) EDX mapping of constituent elements corresponding to the area of the image (a).

Fig. 6. (a) Three-dimensional (3D) APT reconstruction with 11 at.% Nb iso-concentration surfaces showing Nb distribution of as-annealed samples at 410 °C for 30 min. (b) Two-dimension (2D) atomic distribution of constituent elements. (c) One-dimensional (1D) concentration profiles from selected Nb-riched regions in (a).

Fig. 7. (a) Atom maps in the 5 × 5 × 15 nm3 cubic box isothermally annealed at 360 °C and 410 °C for 15 min and 30 min, respectively. (b-e) Histograms of 1st and 10th Nearest-Neighbor Distances (NND) between solute atom Nb under different annealing conditions.

Fig. 8. Schematic diagrams showing the atomic-scale structural evolution of the Zr-Nb-Cu-Ni-Al system during isothermal annealing.

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