Amorphous Ni/Al nanoscale laminates as high-energy intermolecular reactive composites

We use molecular dynamics simulations to explore the potential use of amorphous metals in intermolecular reactive composites. Our simulations show that amorphous Ni/Al nanolaminates lead to an increase in temperature of up to 260 K over their crystalline counterparts; this increase corresponds to over 20% of the heat of fusion and can be explained in terms of the amorphization energy. The reactions are diffusion controlled and crystallization is observed in laminates with relatively long periods where high temperatures are experienced for sufficiently long times prior to intermixing; the effect of this process on the energetics and time involved in the reaction are characterized