The shoulder in the second peak of the pair correlation function of superheated liquid Fe80B20 alloy

By referencing to a series of superheated liquid Fe100 − xBx (x = 0 to 100) alloys, the existence of the shoulder in the second peak of the pair correlation functions of liquid Fe80B20 alloy is confirmed. The shoulder is caused by the unequal opportunity of connection modes rather than the occurrence of particular types of B-centered clusters. Our model predicts that vertex sharing and face sharing of the B-centered structure units are the two significant connection modes responsible for the shoulder. This picture may fill the gap in understanding the widely different shapes of the second peak in superheated liquid and amorphous Fe80B20 alloy.

Research highlights► We focus on the shoulder of pair correlation functions of liquid Fe80B20 alloy. ► A model based on the B-centered structure units is constructed to explain the shoulder. ► The vertex sharing and face sharing of the units are most important. ► This explains the structure difference between liquid and amorphous Fe80B20 alloys.