title: Crystal-Like Rearrangements of Icosahedra in Simulated Copper-Zirconium Metallic Glasses and their Effect on Mechanical Properties.
abstract: Indications of the Cu2Zr Laves phase are observed in MD simulations of amorphous Cu64Zr36 upon isothermal holding just above the glass transition temperature. The structural evolution towards Cu2Zr is accompanied by an increase in the fraction of Cu-centered icosahedra, which demonstrates that a large icosahedral fraction does not just indicate structural relaxation. The crystal-like regions generate an increase in strength and Young's modulus, and a stronger localized shear band. A universal relation between the fraction of full icosahedra and their interconnectivity is found, and both can be modified simultaneously via changes of temperature or strain.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Metal Physics and Technology, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zemp
authors.affiliation: ENEA, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, C.R. Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Celino
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Metal Physics and Technology, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schönfeld
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Metal Physics and Technology, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Löffler