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Title: Observation of an apparent first-order glass transition in ultrafragile Pt–Cu–P bulk metallic glasses

An experimental study of the configurational thermodynamics for a series of near-eutectic Pt80-xCuxP20bulk metallic glass-forming alloys is reported where 14 <x< 27. The undercooled liquid alloys exhibit very high fragility that increases asxdecreases, resulting in an increasingly sharp glass transition. With decreasingx, the extrapolated Kauzmann temperature of the liquid,TK, becomes indistinguishable from the conventionally defined glass transition temperature,Tg. Forx< 17, the observed liquid configurational enthalpy vs.Tdisplays a marked discontinuous drop or latent heat at a well-defined freezing temperature,Tgm. The entropy drop for this first-order liquid/glass transition is approximately two-thirds of the entropy of fusion of the crystallized eutectic alloy. BelowTgm, the configurational entropy of the frozen glass continues to fall rapidly, approaching that of the crystallized eutectic solid in the low T limit. The so-called Kauzmann paradox, with negative liquid entropy (vs. the crystalline state), is averted and the liquid configurational entropy appears to comply with the third law of thermodynamics. Despite their ultrafragile character, the liquids atx= 14 and 16 are bulk glass formers, yielding fully glassy rods up to 2- and 3-mm diameter on water quenching in thin-wall silica tubes. The low Cu content alloys are definitive examples of glasses that exhibit first-order melting.

 
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Award ID(s):
1710744
NSF-PAR ID:
10132239
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume:
117
Issue:
6
ISSN:
0027-8424
Page Range / eLocation ID:
p. 2779-2787
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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