Composition genes in materials

Abstract

High-performance materials always possess specific chemical compositions. The present work points out that the composition genes, which are the basic structural units that serve as the composition carriers, are actually the molecule-like chemical units. Friedel oscillations, in combination with the cluster-plus-glue-atom model, are fully presented to show how to uncover the composition genes hidden in chemical short-range orders in any material. Examples are given in three categories of materials, i.e., metallic alloys including solid solutions and metallic glasses, inorganic compounds as well as relevant glasses, and polymers. Furthermore, materials can be classified into single-, dual-, and multi-gene types. The proposition of composition genes facilitates the understanding of prevailing materials and can be a useful tool to guide the exploration of new composition space.

Keywords

Composition genes / chemical units / cluster-plus-glue-atom model / Friedel oscillations

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