What Stabilizes the Intermediate Structure of an Amorphous Alloy?

TL;DR

This paper uses simulation to analyze the local and intermediate structures of a binary alloy, revealing factors that stabilize its amorphous form and its thermal stability.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the local coordination and packing structures that stabilize amorphous alloys, based on detailed simulation studies.

Findings

Identification of key local coordination structures

Explanation of intermediate packing arrangements

Insights into thermal stability mechanisms

Abstract

We present the results of simulation studies of a model binary metal-metalloid alloy in which we characterize and explain the local coordination structure, the intermediate structure associated with the packing of these coordination polyhedra and the thermal stability of the various structural elements of this model amorphous solid.