Structural differences of amorphous Cu65Zr35 between rapidly quenched and topologically destabilized crystalline Cu and Zr metals by molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract

In this work we demonstrate, by means of molecular dynamic simulations, that the topological instability caused by successive substitutions of Zr in the Cu lattice, or Cu in the Zr lattice towards a final alloy composition of Cu65Zr35, transform the initial systems to the same amorphous structure at 300K. Such a structure, however, is composed of less ordered clusters, i.e. less icosahedral-like clusters in comparison with the same amorphous alloy produced by rapid quenching from the melt. After a short time annealing at 800K the less ordered structure evolves towards the structure of the rapidly solidified sample. From these results it comes out that no structural differences are to be expected in metallic glasses produced by mechanical alloying and by rapid quenching; any differences found in metallic glasses produced by these two different routes should be attributed to insufficient alloying treatment during the mechanical alloying procedure.