Crystallisation behaviours of Al-based metallic glasses: Compositional and topological aspects

The different types of thermal crystallisation behaviours observed during continuous heating of Al-based metallic glasses have been successfully associated with the topological instability λ criterion, which is simply calculated from the alloy composition and metallic radii of the alloying elements and aluminium. In the present work, we report on new results evidencing the correlation between the values of λ and the crystallisation behaviours in Al-based alloys of the Al–Ni–Ce system and we compare the glass-forming abilities of alloys designed with compositions corresponding to the same topological instability condition. The results are discussed in terms of compositional and topological aspects emphasizing the relevance of the different types of clusters in the amorphous phase in defining the stability of the glass and the types of thermal crystallisation.