Structural studies of(Ru0.84Zr0.16)1−xBxmetallic glasses with0.46≤x≤0.52

Abstract

In this paper we present detailed x-ray-diffraction studies on the metallic glass system ${\left({\mathrm{Ru}}_{0.84}{\mathrm{Zr}}_{0.16}\right)}_{1-x}{\mathrm{B}}_x$ over the composition range $0.46\le x\le 0.52$. Available, binary dense-random-packing models are not successful in explaining the structure of these glasses. The presence of a peak in the $G\left(r\right)\mathrm{}$ at a distance of $\sqrt{2}$ times the nearest-neighbor separation has led us to invoke the packing of trigonal prisms to explain their structure. With this proposed short-range order, we find that we can reproduce the main features of the experimentally obtained reduced radial distribution functions. These glasses have very high atomic densities and are found to be extremely brittle.