Supercooled structure of bismuth

The radial distribution function of supercooled bismuth was obtained as a function of temperature using the energy scanning X-ray method. The subsidiary maximum on the right-hand side of the first peak in RDF splits into two or three peaks as the temperature decreases. At the lowest supercooled temperature in the present experiment, a prominent pattern similar to that of pre-crystallization in amorphous films was observed. This technique is useful for structural analysis in the liquid state or the liquid-to-solid transition.