EXAFS and EXELFS study of the structure of Pd-Ni-P bulk metallic glasses

We have explored the short-range order around all three constituents atoms in (Pd-Ni)80P20 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), a system that is a prototype for a whole class of BMG formers containing 80% transition metal and 20% metalloid. We have examined the changes in the nearest neighbor environments around the transition metals in (Pd-Ni)80P20 glasses using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) in comparison to their binary counterparts. We have done similar studies around the coordination of P using extended energy loss fine structure (EXELFS). The environment around the all the atoms in Pd60Ni20P20 and Pd30Ni50P20 are very similar to those of the binary phosphides at the ends of the composition range. However, the (Pd-Ni)80P20 glasses are not simply solid solutions of the phases. The nearest neighbor distances of the metals are reduced in the ternary alloys with respect to those of the binary phosphides. The best glass former in this series, Pd40Ni40P20 is nearly isostructural to Pd30Ni50P20 but show shorter distances at the 2nd and 3rd coordination shells, which we believe is due to more efficient packing in this glass. The metal environments in Pd40Ni40P20, on the other hand, are better described by a weighted average of those of Pd30Ni50P20 and Pd60Ni20P20.