American Physical Society, Physical review B, 2(92)
DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.92.024202
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The study of relaxational behavior of multicomponent metallic liquids still holds the key to understanding and improving the glass-forming abilities of bulk metallic glasses. Herein, we report measurements of the collective relaxation times in a melted bulk metallic glass (LM601 Zr 51 Cu 36 Ni 4 Al 9) in the kinetic regime (Q: 1.5–4.0 ˚ A −1) using quasielastic neutron scattering. The results reveal an unusual slope change in the Angell plots of the collective relaxation time of this metallic liquid around 950 • C, beyond the melting point of the material. Specific heat capacity measurement also reveals the presence of a peak around the same temperature. The coincidence is rationalized using Adams-Gibbs theory, and motivates more careful experimental and computational studies of the metallic liquids in the future.