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An anomalous interfacial structural-compositional rearrangement in a bulk granular nanostructured glass

  • Shu Fu (Co-first Author)
  • , Xiaoshuang Yin (Co-first Author)
  • , Yu Lou (Co-first Author)
  • , Zhenduo Wu*
  • , Xubin Ye
  • , Sinan Liu
  • , He Zhu
  • , Yang Ren
  • , Xun-Li Wang
  • , Tao Feng*
  • , Gerhard Wilde
  • , Xiaohui Yu*
  • , Si Lan*
    • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

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Abstract

In crystalline materials, grain boundaries have been extensively studied and are acknowledged either as structural defects or as distinct phases, referred to as complexions. However, the nature of interfaces in amorphous systems, particularly whether amorphous-amorphous interfaces constitute separate phases and their structural characteristics, remains unresolved. In this study, we report a Pd40Ni40P20 bulk granular nanostructured glass (GNG) that exhibits an interfacial structural-compositional rearrangement. The GNG was fabricated by compacting glassy Pd40Ni40P20 nanoparticles with surface compositional segregation under a triaxial pressure of 8 GPa. The as-prepared GNG shows Pd40Ni40P20 nanograins with Ni-enriched interfacial regions. Upon heating, the anomalous structural-compositional rearrangement occurs specifically at the amorphous interfaces, manifested by a deep exothermic peak at a temperature TS below the glass transition temperature Tg. This structural-compositional rearrangement induces significant modifications in both compositional fluctuations and medium-range ordering, subsequently modifying the material’s mechanical properties. © The Author(s) 2026.
Original languageEnglish
Article number48
Number of pages9
JournalCommunications Materials
Volume7
Online published5 Jan 2026
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2026

Funding

We would like to thank Xiang Chi, Bo Wu for their help in preparing the TEM experiment and micropillar test, thank Jing Wu for her help on the cryo-TEM experiment, and thank Prof. Yi Li for his valuable comments. This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52222104, 52201190, 12261160364, 52573263, 52571186, 51520105001, 12375304). S. Lan acknowledges support from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Neutron Scattering Science and Technology. Z. Wu acknowledges the financial supports by Scientific Research Innovation Capability Support Project for Young Faculty (SRICSPYF-BS2025072), by Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2024A1515010964), and by Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province (No. 2024TQ08C536). X. -L. Wang and S.L. acknowledge the support by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee (No. JCYJ20200109105618137), the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (No. N_CityU173/22), and a project at City University of Hong Kong (No. 9229019). X. Yu acknowledges the financial support by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2023YFA1608900). This research used the resources in the Advanced Photon Source, a US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02–06CH11357, and was supported by the US DOE Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. This work was partially carried out at the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility.

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  • This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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