The role of oxygen in the formation of titanium-based icosahedral phases and crystal approximants

Abstract

The first report of an oxygen-stabilized quasicrystal is presented. Oxygen is shown to be essential for the formation of the icosahedral and 1/1 approximant phases in Ti-Mn-Si and Ti-Cr-Si alloys. Recent X-ray and neutron diffraction structural studies by us of the 1/1 approximant phase reveal specific sites for the oxygen in the Mackay icosahedral clusters. On the basis of these data, possible explanations for the role of oxygen in quasicrystal formation are considered. These include firstly the creation of a nucleation barrier for competing crystalline phases, secondly the stabilization of the fundamental Mackay icosahedral cluster and thirdly an adjustment of the electron-to-atom ratio to shift the Fermi surface into a minimum in the density of states.