Energetics of glass-to-crystal transition in Cu60Zr40 -based ternary glasses

Energetic effects accompanying the transformations from a glassy solid to a crystalline one are still in the focus of attention (1). However, results are not always reproducible and selfconsistent. One good way of getting fully comparable experimental data is to perform simultaneously, in the same laboratory, quenching experiments and researches on the properties of the obtained glasses. During such a program of studies (2,3), the present results were obtained. Going from the binary Cu60Zr40 glass, two main series of glasses were prepared (composition in at. %): Cu60Zr /SUB 40-x/ M /SUB x/ and Cu /SUB 60-x/ Zr40M /SUB x/ , where M is a transition metal (Ti, Hf, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni) or a metalloid (Si, Ge), and x = 2. In Ni-containing glasses, the concentration range was extended up to x = 10 (x = 2 ; 4 ; 6 ; 8 ; 10). The aim of the present paper is to report the effect of various M-elements on both the enthalpy of crystallization - ΔH /SUB x/ and the activation energy E. This effect is discussed first of all in terms of the position of these elements in the Periodic Table. An attempt is also made to find a relation between ΔH /SUB x/ , E and the so-called thermal stability T /SUB x/ of glasses (T /SUB x/ = the temperature measured at the top of the crystallization peak). It is shown that a simple correlation does not exist between T /SUB x/ and the energetic effects