title: Electronic structure inheritance and pressure-induced polyamorphism in lanthanide-based metallic glasses.
abstract: We report that a series of lanthanide-based bulk metallic glasses show a pressure-induced polyamorphic phase transition observed by in situ angle-dispersive x-ray diffraction under high pressures. The transition started from a low-density state at lower pressures, and went through continuous densification ending with a high-density state at higher pressures. We demonstrate that, under high pressure, this new type of polyamorphism in densely packed metallic glasses is inherited from its lanthanide-solvent constituent and related to the electronic structure of 4f electrons. The found electronic structure inheritance could provide the guidance for designing new metallic glasses with unique functional physical properties.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, China. gli25@utk.edu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Liaw
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Liu