Short-range order and solid–liquid interfaces in undercooled metallic melts

The short-range order in undercooled melts is predicted to influence the energy of the interface between the liquid and a solid nucleus, depending on the structure of the solid phase. This impacts the nucleation behaviour of solid phases from undercooled melts, and thus the properties of the as-solidified materials. aper reviews theoretical and experimental investigations on the short-range order in undercooled melts and its effect on the solid–liquid interfacial energy. The structure dependence of the solid–liquid interfacial energy is investigated theoretically by modelling of the solid–liquid interface basing on the negentropic model by Spaepen and Thompson, and experimentally by undercooling experiments employing the electromagnetic levitation technique. The studied phases include quasicrystalline and polytetrahedral solids.