Decomposition of the supercooled liquid of the bulk amorphous alloy Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5

For the bulk metallic glass Zr41Ti14Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 the existance range of the supercooled liquid between glass transition and crystallization is remarkably extended. Upon annealing in this temperature range the alloy decomposes into two supercooled liquid phases, which by cooling are transformed into two amorphous phases. The X-ray diffraction and electron diffraction in the TEM indicate the decomposition well before the appearance of the first crystallites. The fine structure of the decomposed alloy is represented by an intensity maximum in the Small Angle Neutron Scattering spectrum. The supercooled decomposed liquid is very stable against crystallization: while the crystallization of the first metastable fee-phase from the homogeneous alloy is completed at 673 K already after 25 min, the decomposed alloy shows insignificant crystallization even after 6 h at this temperature.