Thermal and electrical transport properties of zr-based bulk metallic glassy alloys with high glass-forming ability

Thermal and electrical transport properties, such as thermal diffusivity, the electrical resistivity and thermopower of the Zr-based bulk metallic glassy (BMG) alloys of Zr ₄₂Cu ₄₂Ag ₈Al ₈ and Zr ₅₅Al ₁₀Cu _35-xNi _x (x = 0, 5 and 10) with high glass-forming ability were investigated. Thermal diffusivity is comparatively low at about 2 × 10 ^-6m ² s ^-1, reflecting the aperiodic crystal structure of the BMG, whereas it becomes higher and depends on the alloy compositions after their crystallization. The phonon contribution to the thermal conductivity of the BMG alloys is thought to be small, based on a comparison with the estimated value of the electronic contribution to the thermal conductivity from the WiedemannFranz law. The thermopower of the present Zr-based BMG alloys shows a small positive value around room temperature, which is a general feature of nonmagnetic amorphous alloys.