From high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of PdxNi(80-x)P20 bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) we observe bonding states in the ternary glasses that cannot be simulated by linear combinations of the valence bands of the binaries. Thus, the bonding in the ternary glasses is qualitatively different from those of the binary alloys of this composition range. Further, we observe that there are more such states in Pd40Ni40P20 than in Pd40.5Cu40.5P19, explaining the greater glass-formability of the former. Within the bulk glass formation range, 30 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 60, the valence band of the most stable glass, Pd40Ni40P20, is found to be a linear combination of those of the glasses at the extremes of this range. Comparison of XPS core level binding energies of glasses and crystals in PdxNi(80-x)P20 show that the electronic structure of glasses is closest to that of the corresponding crystals at x = 30, which agrees with a minimum in the heat of crystallization for this composition. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. [References: 19]
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