Effect of antimony on glass transition and thermal stability of Se78−xTe18Sn2Sbx (x = 0, 2, 4 and 6 at.%) multicomponent glassy alloys

Abstract

Multicomponent glassy alloys Se78−xTe18Sn2Sbx (x = 0, 2, 4 and 6) have been synthesized using melt quench technique. The prepared samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction technique and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Glass transition kinetics of Se78−xTe18Sn2Sbx (x = 0, 2, 4 and 6 at.%) glassy alloys has been examined using DSC. DSC runs have been recorded at different heating rates (5, 10, 15 and 20 K min−1) for each sample under investigation. Heating rate dependence of glass transition temperature (Tg) has been studied using Lasocka empirical relation. The activation energy of glass transition has been evaluated using Kissinger and Moynihan’s relation. The effect of antimony concentration on glass transition temperature and activation energy has been investigated in the prepared samples. Glass-forming ability and thermal stability of Se78−xTe18Sn2Sbx (x = 0, 2, 4 and 6) glassy alloys have been monitored through the evaluation of thermal stability using Dietzal relation, Hurby parameter, and Saad and Poulin parameter. The above-mentioned parameters are found to be compositionally dependent, which indicates that among the studied glass samples the stability is maximum for Sb at 2% content.