Phonon Dynamics and Collective Excitations in Cu₆₀Zr₂₀Hf₁₀Ti₁₀ Bulk Metallic Glass

Abstract

Bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) are the new engineering materials. Different BMGs have different extraordinary properties. Technologists find potential applications of BMGs based upon their excellent thermodynamic, elastic, magnetic, electronic transport and superconducting properties. Their properties like high strength, good formability, corrosion resistance etc. attract researchers to experimentally explore or theoretically predict some novel applications. In the recent years, the current status of BMGs as structural materials, functional materials, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), micro/macro devices, biomedical devices, bio-mimic materials etc. have caught the attention of many industrial sectors. Under the current theoretical work, thermodynamic and elastic properties of Cu₆₀Zr₂₀Hf₁₀Ti₁₀ BMG have been computed and reported in a nutshell. Here, pseudopotential formalism is applied, wherein pseudo-alloy-atom (PAA) model with Wills-Harrison (WH) approach is used for the computation of the interatomic pair potential [V(r)] and pair correlation function (PCF) [g(r)] using Shaw’s optimized model pseudopotential. Phonon Dispersion Curves (PDCs) are theoretically generated through HB- approach, where the screening dependency is examined by five dissimilar and versatile H-, T-, IU-, F- and S- local field correction functions. The vibrational dynamics of quaternary Cu₆₀Zr₂₀Hf₁₀Ti₁₀ BMG, in terms of the longitudinal and transverse phonon eigenfrequencies of the localized collective excitations, have been theoretically examined at room temperature in the present study. Some important elastic and thermodynamic properties have been estimated from the elastic limits of the PDCs.