Local Order in Liquid Gallium–Indium Alloys

Abstract

Liquid metals such as eutectic Ga–In alloys have low melting points and low toxicity and are used in catalysis and micro-robotics. This study investigates the local atomic structure of liquid gallium-indium alloys by a combination of density measurements, diffraction data, and Monte-Carlo simulation via the empirical potential structure refinement approach. A high-Q shoulder observed in liquid Ga is related to structural rearrangements in the second coordination shell. Structure analysis found coordination environments close to a random distribution for eutectic Ga–In alloy, while electronic effects appear to dominate the mixing enthalpy.