The basic polyhedral clusters, the optimum glass formers, and the composition-structure-property (glass-forming ability) correlation in Cu-Zr metallic glasses

Using the large-scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator, chemical short-range order of the Cu-Zr binary system over the three good glass-forming compositional ranges has been investigated. Based on a statistical analysis, a simple route has been developed for broad investigations of the basic polyhedral clusters, optimum glass formers, as well as the composition-structure-property (glass-forming ability) correlation. In addition, topological short-range orders of the basic polyhedral clusters in the three compositional ranges were characterized. Our findings have implications for understanding the nature, forming ability, and properties of metallic glasses.