Specific Heat and Electrical Resistivity of an Icosahedral-Structure Zr[sub 70]Pd[sub 30] Alloy and of Its Amorphous and Crystalline Analogs

Abstract

Binary icosahedral and crystalline phases of the Zr70Pd30 alloy were obtained in crystallization from the amorphous state during heat treatment. The specific heat and electrical resistivity of the icosahedral, amorphous, and crystalline phases were measured and compared. An increase in the electronic density of states on the Fermi surface, lattice softening, and an increase in the electron-phonon coupling constant were observed to occur with decreasing structural order. Despite the high valence electron density in the icosahedral phase, where the electronic densities of states are twice those in the crystal, the electrical resistivity of the icosahedral phase is ∼50 times as high. Superconductivity was observed for the first time in the icosahedral phase of a binary system of transition metal atoms, Zr70Pd30.