Icositetrahedral and icosahedral atomic configurations observed in the Nb–Ag metallic glasses synthesized by ion beam mixing

Abstract

Metallic glasses are obtained in an immiscible Nb–Ag system by ion beam mixing and an atomic configuration in the amorphous structure is discovered, i.e., an icositetrahedral ordering, which, together with an icosahedral ordering also observed in the Nb–Ag metallic glasses and in some previously reported systems, helps in formulating a structural spectrum of the amorphous solids. The experimental characterization and atomistic modeling with an ab initio derived Nb–Ag potential demonstrate the significance of structural heredity, i.e., the crystalline structures of the constituent metals play a decisive role in determining the atomic structure of the metallic glasses in the system.