Dimensionless parameter of structural ordering and excess entropy of metallic and tellurite glasses

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simple dimensionless order parameter based on excess entropy to quantify structural ordering in metallic and tellurite glasses, providing a new method for structural analysis.

Contribution

The paper proposes a novel dimensionless parameter $\xi$ that measures the degree of structural order in glasses, linking excess entropy to structural state and composition.

Findings

$\xi$ effectively distinguishes different structural states.

$\xi$ correlates with chemical composition and structural order.

The method applies to various metallic and tellurite glasses.

Abstract

Using a notion on the excess entropy of glass with respect to the counterpart crystal, we introduce a simple dimensionless order parameter $\xi$, which changes from $\xi \rightarrow 0$ to $\xi \rightarrow 1$. The former case corresponds to a strongly disordered liquid-like structure while the latter situation describes a highly ordered crystal-like glass. This approach is applied to 13 metallic and 2 tellurite glasses. We found that $\xi$ is strongly sensitive to structural state and/or chemical composition. It can be also used for a comparison of the order in glasses belonging to different classes and appear to represent a new way of structural analysis.