Low temperature heat capacity and electrical resistivity of the Ti40Zr25Cu12Ni3Be20 glass forming alloy

Abstract

Gaining knowledge of electronic structure provides useful information for understanding unique properties of metallic glasses. In this study, low temperature heat capacity and electrical resistivity of the glass forming Ti40Zr25Cu12Ni3Be20 alloy with glassy, quasicrystalline, or crystalline states below 300 K were investigated. The precipitation of the I-phase was revealed in the initial crystallization process of the Ti40Zr25Cu12Ni3Be20 BMG. The glassy state has higher state density at Fermi level than its quasicrystalline or crystalline counterparts, which could be interpreted by the electron localization in glassy state as well as a pseudo-Brillouin zone formed nearby Fermi surface in the quasicrystalline state. None of the three states showed superconductivity phenomenon down to 1.9 K. Temperature dependence of resistivity for both the glassy state and the quasicrystalline state exhibited negative temperature coefficient and was less sensitive to temperature than the crystalline state. The electrical resistivity showed a smaller value for the I-phase than that for the glass due to lower structural integrity of I-phase. Electrical resistivity as well as heat capacity measurements indicated that the electronic structure of the quasicrystalline state is quite similar to glassy state but far from crystalline state.