Correlation between kinetic strength, volumetric properties, and glass forming ability in metallic liquids

A systematic study of the viscosity in the equilibrium and supercooled states is reported for Cu100 − xZrx (30 ≤ x ≤ 55) liquids. While no correlation between the magnitude of the viscosity at T = Tg/0.6 with the glass forming ability is observed, peaks in the kinetic strength are observed at the best glass forming compositions. This not only confirms the rule that strong metallic liquids are better glass formers, but also sheds light on recent correlations reported between volumetric properties and glass forming ability.