Understanding ductility or brittleness of monolithic bulk metallic glasses requires detailed knowledge of the amorphous structure. The medium-range order (MRO) of ductile Pd40Ni40P20 and brittle Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5 (Vit105) was characterized prior to and after notched three-point bending tests using variable-resolution fluctuation electron microscopy. Here, we show the presence of a second larger MRO correlation length in the ductile material, which is not present in the brittle material. The second larger correlation length accounts for an increased heterogeneity, which seems to enable an easier shear band formation and thus explain the difference in deformability.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.