Atomistic and electronic structures of functional disordered materials revealed by a combination of quantum-beam measurements and computer simulations

Abstract

The advent of advanced quantum beam sources and instrumentation makes it feasible to use quantum-beam (synchrotron X-ray and neutron) techniques to investigate the structure of disordered materials in a quantitative manner. In particular, a combination of quantum-beam measurements and advanced simulation techniques allows us to study structures at both the atomistic and electronic levels. In this article, some of the recent work on solving the structure of functional disordered materials, which do not contain a glass former, are reviewed to discuss the relationship between structure and glass-forming ability as well as the relation between atomistic and electronic structures and functions. Furthermore, we consider the use of other quantum-beam-based techniques and the introduction of descriptors for disordered matter to reveal the ordering hidden in correlation functions.