Glass formation and glass forming ability of La_86-xAl₁₄Cu_x(x=10-36) alloys

Many bulk metallic glasses have been obtained recently and there are many indicators used for their glass forming ability. One of them is the reduced glass transition temperature T_rg (T_g/T_l). In this paper, we report our systematic investigation of the reduced glass transition temperature in La-Cu-Al based alloys by studying their glass transition temperature (T_g) and melting behaviour. It was found that reduced glass transition temperature based on T_g/T_l increased to the maximum when the liquidus temperature decreased to the minimum for La_86-xAl₁₄Cu_x (x=10∼36) alloys. The best glass formation in La-Cu-Al alloy system was obtained at La₆₆Al₁₄Cu₂₀ alloy, which is at the eutectic point with the highest reduced glass transition temperature of 0.54 among these alloys. The glass forming ability of these alloys is correlated and discussed with their reduced glass transition temperature.