Glass-transition behavior of Ni: Calculation, prediction, and experiment

Vitrification of metals and alloys has received much attention in the field of materials science. Although some progress has been made, this phenomenon has yet to be fully understood. Herein, we investigate the vitrification process of pure Ni using an ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. The results of the molecular dynamics simulation and predictions from the specific volume and density diagrams as well as a casting experiment indicate that Ni may have a high reduced glass transition temperature but due to kinetic reasons is not a good glass former. The results of the present work provide new information about the glass-transition phenomenon and suggest that the reduced glass transition temperature is only an indicator of how easily can glass be formed and that its stability is a significantly more important feature.