Thermodynamics of liquid alloys and glass formation

Abstract

The ease of glass formation in metallic systems is considered as a function of the difference in the specific heats of the liquid and solid phases and of the excess specific heat of the liquid derived from mixing properties. Data have been collected for various glass-forming alloys and are compared with those, newly obtained, for a non-glass-forming eutectic (Al₈₈Si₁₂). Approximate formulae for computing the thermodynamic quantities of undercooled metallic melts are reviewed, and a correlation of the glass-transition temperature with the thermodynamic properties of the liquid is discussed. The possible relationship between high specific heat in the liquid phase and glass formation by solid-state amorphization is outlined.