Metallic glasses of the alkali metals Rb and Cs containing 13-20 at.% oxygen have been obtained for the first time by rapid cooling (∼ ${10}^2$ K/s) of liquid samples. An investigation of the electronic and structural properties leads to the conclusion that a chemical bonding model is more appropriate for these glasses than a free-electron model. Strongly bonded ionic clusters are responsible for the enhanced tendency for glass formation.

• Received 18 April 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.40.1730