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Direct observation of local atomic order in a metallic glass

Nature Materials volume 10, pages 28–33 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

The determination of the atomic configuration of metallic glasses is a long-standing problem in materials science and solid-state physics1,2. So far, only average structural information derived from diffraction and spectroscopic methods has been obtained. Although various atomic models have been proposed in the past fifty years3,4,5,6,7,8, a direct observation of the local atomic structure in disordered materials has not been achieved. Here we report local atomic configurations of a metallic glass investigated by nanobeam electron diffraction combined with ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Distinct diffraction patterns from individual atomic clusters and their assemblies, which have been theoretically predicted as short- and medium-range order6,7,8, can be experimentally observed. This study provides compelling evidence of the local atomic order in the disordered material and has important implications in understanding the atomic mechanisms of metallic-glass formation and properties.

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Figure 1: Experimental scheme of NBED.
Figure 2: Statistical analysis of interatomic spacings obtained from NBED and simulation.
Figure 3: Structural model of glassy Zr66.7Ni33.3 obtained by ab initio molecular dynamics simulation.
Figure 4: Local atomic structure of glassy Zr66.7Ni33.3 determined by the combination of NBED with simulation.
Figure 5: Characterization of MRO by NBED.

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Acknowledgements

This work was sponsored by ‘Global COE for Materials Research and Education’, ‘World Premier International (WPI) Research Center Initiative for Atoms, Molecules and Materials’, MEXT, Japan. It was also partly supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S) (20226013) JSPS. We thank M. Hasegawa of Nagoya University for providing the Zr66.7Ni33.3 metallic-glass ribbons.

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Affiliations

  1. WPI Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan

    Akihiko Hirata, Pengfei Guan, Takeshi Fujita, Alain Reza Yavari & Mingwei Chen

  2. R&D Institute of Metals and Composites for Future Industries (RIMCOF), Osaka University, Osaka 567-0047, Japan

    Yoshihiko Hirotsu

  3. Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan

    Akihisa Inoue, Toshio Sakurai & Mingwei Chen

  4. Euronano, SIMAP-CNRS, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, BP 75, 38402 St-Martin-d’Heres Campus, France

    Alain Reza Yavari

Authors
  1. Akihiko Hirata
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  2. Pengfei Guan
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  3. Takeshi Fujita
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  4. Yoshihiko Hirotsu
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  5. Akihisa Inoue
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  7. Toshio Sakurai
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Contributions

A.H. and M.C. designed and carried out research, analysed data and wrote the paper. P.G. and T.F. contributed to simulations. Y.H., A.I., A.R.Y. and T.S. contributed to analysing the data.

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Correspondence to Mingwei Chen.

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Hirata, A., Guan, P., Fujita, T. et al. Direct observation of local atomic order in a metallic glass. Nature Mater 10, 28–33 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2897

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