Atomic structure of Zr-Cu glassy alloys and detection of deviations from ideal solution behavior with Al addition by x-ray diffraction using synchrotron light in transmission

The atomic structure of Zr-Cu binary amorphous alloys was studied using real space pair distribution functions derived from x-ray diffraction. The structure can be modeled by an ideal solution approximation because of relatively weak Cu-Zr atomic interactions. Addition of Al to Zr-Cu metallic glasses modifies the atomic structure in the short and medium range order because of the strongly attractive interaction between Al and Zr atoms. These interactions generate strong deviations from the ideal solution behavior.