Local order in liquid phases of Al–Ga–Zn alloys

In this paper, neutron scattering experiments at different temperatures allow us to study local order in the different liquid phases which can exist in Al–Ga–Zn alloys. The ternary phase diagram of these phases has been established from calorimetry and X-ray diffraction results. This study showed that the liquid structure factors in these samples agreed with the presence of a local icosahedral order in the liquid state, when the sample is totally molten. For lower temperatures, the local order owns an analogous liquid cluster structure to that of the solid phase(s) in equilibrium with the liquid. The knowledge of structural data of liquid and the liquid local order variations with temperature has confirmed previous results obtained by calorimetry and X-ray diffraction.