Kinetics, Thermodynamics, and Structure of Bulk Metallic Glass Forming Liquids

Bulk metallic glass forming melts are viscous liquids compared with pure metals and conventional alloys. They show intermediate kinetic fragility and low thermodynamic driving force for crystallization, leading to sluggish crystallization kinetics, leaving time for good glass forming ability and bulk casting thickness. We relate the kinetics to the thermodynamics of the supercooled liquid using the Adam-Gibbs equation. The kinetic fragility is also connected to the structural changes in the liquid and can be quantitatively linked to the robustness of medium-range order in the supercooled liquid with increasing temperature. Liquid-liquid transitions from fragile behavior at high temperature to strong behavior at low temperature in the supercooled liquid and in the vicinity of the glass transition emerge as a common phenomenon.