Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Directly manipulating the atomic structure to achieve a specific property is a long pursuit in the field of materials. However, hindered by the disordered, non-prototypical glass structure and the complex interplay between structure and property, such inverse design is dauntingly hard for glasses. Here, combining two cutting-edge techniques, graph neural networks and swap Monte Carlo, we develop a data-driven, property-oriented inverse design route that managed to improve the plastic resistance of Cu-Zr metallic glasses in a controllable way. Swap Monte Carlo, as a sampler, effectively explores the glass landscape, and graph neural networks, with high regression accuracy in predicting the plastic resistance, serves as a decider to guide the search in configuration space. Via an unconventional strengthening mechanism, a geometrically ultra-stable yet energetically meta-stable state is unraveled, contrary to the common belief that the higher the energy, the lower the plastic resistance. This demonstrates a vast configuration space that can be easily overlooked by conventional atomistic simulations. The data-driven techniques, structural search methods and optimization algorithms consolidate to form a toolbox, paving a new way to the design of glassy materials.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Qi Wang, Longfei Zhang
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,560
Award: G8315039891
OpenAlex ID: W3152985594