A diffraction study of Ni 82B 18 and Ni 64B 36 metallic glasses

Abstract

Neutron and X-ray diffraction experiments have been made on Ni 82B 18 and Ni 64B 36 metallic glasses. There is good overall agreement between the structure factors and reduced radial distribution functions obtained from X-ray and neutron data — although the real space resolution in the neutron case is lower because of experimental limitations. The scattering from the metalloid is enhanced for the Ni 64B 36 specimen, and the structure factor, particularly with neutrons, is unlike those curves of S( Q) normally observed for metal—metalloid glasses. Two conclusions are drawn from the analysis of the structural data, first that the nickel-nickel correlations are rather similar for the two specimens, and, second, that the nickel-boron first neighbour distance is smaller in the Ni 64B 36 alloy than in the Ni 82B 18.