Length scale-dependent structural relaxation in Zr57.5Ti7.5Nb5Cu12.5Ni10Al7.5 metallic glass

Structural relaxation in ball-milled Zr57.5Ti7.5Nb5Cu12.5Ni10Al7.5 glassy powders has been investigated by in-situ high-energy X-ray diffraction. The studies in reciprocal and real space reveal a contrasting behavior between medium- (MRO) and short-range order (SRO). The free volume is not uniformly distributed across the atoms: annihilation of free volume (i.e. shrinking) during heating is observed in the MRO, whereas an increase of free volume (i.e. expansion) occurs in the SRO, implying a denser SRO in the as-milled powder compared to the structurally relaxed material. This behavior is in agreement with the concepts of free volume and anti-free volume and can be attributed to the change of the coordination number in the first nearest-neighbor shell. Finally, the results demonstrate that the first diffuse diffraction maximum in reciprocal space is a reliable indicator to evaluate the structural changes occurring in the MRO.