Aug 2026· MRS bulletin· Vol 51, pp. 1024 - 1038· 0 citations· 69 references
Abstract
Medium-range structure at a length scale between ~0.5 and 3 nm strongly influences the properties and phase transformations of metallic glass alloys. Electron diffraction methods based on four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy are well suited for characterizing such structure using nanodiffraction with beams matched in size to the length scale of interest. Structural characterization using techniques including fluctuation electron microscopy, Ångström-beam electron diffraction, and angular correlation mapping have revealed widespread competition between crystalline and noncrystalline order, structural motifs responsible for crystallization and glass formation, and length scales controlling plasticity. Time-resolved, in situ electron correlation microscopy has demonstrated spatially heterogeneous dynamics in supercooled liquids and glasses and has hinted at connections between structure and atomic motions. Continued advances in techniques, sources, and detectors offer prospects for more discoveries to come. Electron nanodiffraction probes only a few hundred atoms at a time, offering unique views of the atomic structure and dynamics of metallic glasses Electron nanodiffraction probes only a few hundred atoms at a time, offering unique views of the atomic structure and dynamics of metallic glasses
In this article, we discuss the challenges in assessing dynamics and structural changes of metallic glasses as amorphous out-of-equilibrium materials by means of coherent x-ray scattering. We focus on the fundamental understanding of the x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) technique and on how such an experime...
P. Derlet, B. Riechers, R. Maaß· MRS bulletin· 0 citations
When cooling towards a ferroelectric phase transition, collective atomic motions (phonons) slow down (soften) until a static atomic displacement pattern forms, giving rise to spontaneous polarization throughout the material1. However, in quantum paraelectrics such as strontium titanate (SrTiO3), long-range ferroelectri...
Yang Zhang, Suk Hyun Sung, Nishkarsh Agarwal et al.· Nature· 1 citation· ⚡1
Oxide interfaces, characterized by the interplay of dissimilar lattices, orbitals, charges, and spins, exhibit a wealth of emergent phenomena, such as superconductivity, two-dimensional electron gases, and magnetoelectric coupling, which hold great promise for next-generation integrated functional devices. Here, we dem...
T. Shi, Jiaqi Liu, Shuang Chen et al.· ACS Applied Materials and In...· 0 citations
Did you know that the strongest known engineering alloy is a metallic glass? This and many other world records have emerged along the success story of amorphous metals. With their unique structural and functional properties, and arising from a vast structural design space, metallic glasses are the amorphous counterpart...
Ligand-mediated colloidal synthesis enables controlled growth of metal nanoparticles with properties distinct from their bulk counterparts, yet direct access to their atomic-scale surface structure remains limited. Here, we achieve atomically resolved imaging and spectroscopy of individual wet-synthesized gold nanocube...
Weike Quan, Liya Bi, Athena Aber et al.· Journal of the American Chem...· 0 citations
Interfacial structure and its evolution play an important role in determining the functional properties of advanced materials and devices. However, real oxide heterointerfaces are typically far more complex than idealized abrupt boundaries; thus clarifying how interfacial structures evolve and how such evolution affect...
