Structural Aspects of Metallic Glasses

A recent structural model reconciles apparently conflicting features of randomness, short-range order, and medium-range order that coexist in metallic glasses. In this efficient cluster packing model, short-range order can be described by efficiently packed solute-centered clusters, producing more than a dozen established atomic clusters, including icosahedra. The observed preference for icosahedral short-range order in metallic glasses is consistent with the theme of efficient atomic packing and is further favored by solvent-centered clusters. Driven by solute—solute avoidance, medium-range order results from the organization in space of overlapping, percolating (via connected pathways), quasi-equivalent clusters. Cubic-like and icosahedral-like organization of these clusters are consistent with measured medium-range order. New techniques such as fluctuation electron microscopy now provide more detailed experimental studies of medium-range order for comparison with model predictions. Microscopic free volume in the efficient cluster packing model is able to represent experimental and computational results, showing free volume complexes ranging from subatomic to atomic-level sizes. Free volume connects static structural models to dynamic processes such as diffusion and deformation. New approaches dealing with “free” and “anti-free” microscopic volume and coordinated atomic motion show promise for modeling the complex dynamics of structural relaxations such as the glass transition. Future work unifying static and dynamic structural views is suggested.