Experimental evidence of mesoscopic order in the apparently amorphous glacial phase of the fragile glass former triphenylphosphite

¹ Laboratoire de Chimie Physique, Université Paris-Sud - 91405 Orsay, France
² Laboratoire de Physique Theorique des Liquides, Université Pierre et Marie Curie 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France

Received: 15 June 2000
Accepted: 13 September 2000

Abstract

We present a neutron scattering study over a wide range of wave vectors of the structure of the fragile glass former triphenylphosphite, with an emphasis on the recently discovered, apparently amorphous, glacial phase. Direct evidence is given by small-angle scattering data that the glacial phase has a structural organization on a mesoscopic scale  Å). Our analysis supports the interpretation of the glacial phase as a poorly crystallized phase with an unusually large unit cell and unusually small crystallites. Consequences for the theory of fragile glass-forming liquids are discussed.