Influence of icosahedral clusters on crystallization of Zr<SUB>55</SUB>Ni<SUB>10</SUB>Al<SUB>7.5</SUB>Cu<SUB>7.5</SUB>Ti<SUB>10</SUB>Ta<SUB>10</SUB> glassy alloy

The crystallization behavior and phase formation in Zr55Ni10Al7.5Cu7.5Ti10Ta10 metallic glass have been studied by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Mutual addition of Ti and Ta is found to benefit the formation of the icosahedral phase in the glassy phase on heating without energy barrier for nucleation. The value of the activation energy for nucleation and growth estimated by Kissinger analysis also supports this result