Connecting glass-forming ability of binary mixtures of soft particles to equilibrium melting temperatures

TL;DR

This study links the glass-forming ability of binary soft particle mixtures to differences in their equilibrium melting temperatures, providing insights into how particle properties influence glass formation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel connection between glass-forming ability and melting temperature gaps in binary mixtures, offering a new framework for understanding and optimizing glass formation.

Findings

Glass-forming ability correlates with melting temperature differences.

Particle size and stiffness influence the melting temperature gap.

Pressure and interaction parameters affect glass-forming ability.

Abstract

The glass-forming ability is an important material property for manufacturing glasses and understanding the long-standing glass transition problem. Because of the nonequilibrium nature, it is difficult to develop the theory for it. Here we report that the glass-forming ability of binary mixtures of soft particles is related to the equilibrium melting temperatures. Due to the distinction in particle size or stiffness, the two components in a mixture effectively feel different melting temperatures, leading to a melting temperature gap. By varying the particle size, stiffness, and composition over a wide range of pressures, we establish a comprehensive picture for the glass-forming ability, based on our finding of the direct link between the glass-forming ability and the melting temperature gap. Our study reveals and explains the pressure and interaction dependence of the glass-forming ability of model glass-formers, and suggests strategies to optimize the glass-forming ability via the manipulation of particle interactions.