Topological Constraints, Rigidity Transitions, and Anomalies in Molecular Networks

Anomalous diffusion and non-monotonic relaxation processes in Ge-Se liquids

We investigate the dynamical properties of liquid GexSe100-x as a function of Ge content by first-principles molecular dynamic simulations for a certain number of temperatures in the liquid state. The focus is set on ten compositions (where x ≤ 33%) encompassing the reported flexible to rigid and rigid to stressed-rigid transitions. We examine diffusion coefficients, diffusion activation energies, glassy relaxation behavior, and viscosity of these liquids from Van Hove correlation and intermediate scattering functions. At fixed temperature, all properties/functions exhibit an anomalous behavior with Ge content in the region 18%-22%, and provide a direct and quantitative link to the network rigidity.

Relaxation and physical aging in network glasses: a review

Recent progress in the description of glassy relaxation and aging are reviewed for the wide class of network-forming materials such as GeO2, Ge x Se1-x , silicates (SiO2-Na2O) or borates (B2O3-Li2O), all of which have an important usefulness in domestic, geological or optoelectronic applications. A brief introduction of the glass transition phenomenology is given, together with the salient features that are revealed both from theory and experiments. Standard experimental methods used for the characterization of the slowing down of the dynamics are reviewed. We then discuss the important role played by aspects of network topology and rigidity for the understanding of the relaxation of the glass transition, while also permitting analytical predictions of glass properties from simple and insightful models based on the network structure. We also emphasize the great utility of computer simulations which probe the dynamics at the molecular level, and permit the calculation of various structure-related functions in connection with glassy relaxation and the physics of aging which reveal the non-equilibrium nature of glasses. We discuss the notion of spatial variations of structure which leads to the concept of 'dynamic heterogeneities', and recent results in relation to this important topic for network glasses are also reviewed.