The influence of topological structure on bulk glass formation in Al-based metallic glasses

Synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction has been used to determine the atomic structural details in three selected melt-spun Al-based metallic glasses with different glass-forming abilities (GFAs), Al86Ni7Y4.5Co1La1.5, Al86Ni6Y6Co2 and Al84Ni9Y7. The atomic pair species, pair fractions and their corresponding bond distances have been established for each metallic glass. These results address the GFA of Al-based metallic glasses from the topological perspective, and explain the structural origins that are responsible for the excellent GFA of Al86Ni7Y4.5Co1La1.5.