Stability and nucleation behavior of glass-forming Pd–Cu–Ni–P alloy with a critical cooling rate of 0.067 K/s

An undercooled Pd42.5Cu30Ni7.5P20 melt having a eutectic composition exhibits the lowest critical cooling rate for glass formation of 0.067 K/s. Nucleation and crystal growth behaviors of the undercooled melt were investigated. For example, nucleation frequency and crystal growth rate at 683 K where the temperature is close to nose temperature were evaluated as 4.76×109 nuclei/m3 s and 3.24×10−7 m/s, respectively. These values are almost the same as those for the undercooled Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 melt which has a slightly off-eutectic composition. However, the difference in incubation time for crystallization and nucleation mode was observed in both melts. The nucleation mechanism of undercooled Pd42.5Cu30Ni7.5P20 and Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 melt is compared. Based on these results, the prolongation in incubation time for crystallization is discussed in the present study.