Possible link of the V-shaped phase diagram to the glass-forming ability and fragility in a water-salt mixture.

Water is a very poor glass former, but its link to the thermodynamic and kinetic anomalies remains elusive. We experimentally reveal that the glass-forming ability and fragility of a water-salt mixture are closely related to its equilibrium phase diagram. We propose that frustration between local and global orderings controls both the glass-forming ability and the fragility. Relying on the same role of salt and pressure, which commonly break tetrahedral order, we apply this idea to pure water under pressure. This scenario not only explains unusual behavior of water-type liquids such as water, Si, and Ge but also provides a mechanism for a link between the equilibrium phase diagram, glass-forming ability, and fragility for various materials including oxides, chalcogenides, and metallic glasses.