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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
The local atomic structure of Al87Ni7Nd6 amorphous metallic glass was determined upon heating by neutron diffraction and the pair density function (PDF) analysis. Two isotopes of Ni with very different scattering intensities were used (58Ni and 60Ni) to separate the local environment of the transition metal. A distinct pre-peak observed in reciprocal space arises because of chemical clustering of Ni atoms. With increasing temperature the coherence length of this peak increases indicating an enhancement in atomic clustering. In addition, precipitation of Al metal is first observed at 200 °C with heating. Binary and ternary Al phases form as the temperature increases further to 500 °C although the majority crystalline phase is Al. The local atomic topology at the intermediate temperatures can be represented with a model that is a combination of the atomic structure at room temperature plus Al.