| Abstract Scope |
Glasses are primarily made by cooling liquids fast to avoid crystallization, but finite cooling rates limit the range of compositions that can form glasses. Recent studies show that pressure can provide different pathways to uncover hidden glassy states with unique structure and properties that are unattainable from melt quenching. In other words, pressure allows the retention of kinetically stable atomic configurations such as higher coordination states that cannot be formed by using temperature and time as the control variables. Furthermore, pressure can change the structure and properties of glass dramatically and tune them continuously for a given composition, thus adding another dimension to vastly expand the glassy states. Attractive properties including high elastic modulus, high hardness, enhanced ductility, high thermal-mechanical stability and reduced optical loss and dispersion, have been observed in pressure-processed glasses. Structure of such glasses will be compared with those from melt quenching, to understand their unique properties. |