Investigation of short‐range structural order in Zr69.5Cu12Ni11Al7.5 and Zr41.5Ti41.5Ni17 glasses,using X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations

Short‐range order has been investigated in Zr_69.5Cu₁₂Ni₁₁Al_7.5 and Zr_41.5Ti_41.5Ni₁₇ metallic glasses using X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. While both of these alloys are good glass formers, there is a difference in their glass‐forming abilities (Zr_41.5Ti_41.5Ni₁₇ > Zr_69.5Cu₁₂Ni₁₁Al_7.5). This difference is explained by inciting the relative importance of strong chemical order, icosahedral content, cluster symmetry and configuration diversity.