New stable icosahedral quasicrystalline phase in the Sc–Cu–Zn system

Abstract

Stable icosahedral quasicrystals have been synthesized in the Sc–Cu–Zn system by quench-and-anneal or in-situ filtration methods. These have a composition near Sc_16.2(3)Cu_12.3(3)Zn_71.5(6) at 480°C with a quasilattice constant of 4.995 6(7) Å determined by the Elser method from a single-phase Guinier pattern. An electron diffraction study confirms that the icosahedral quasicrystals have a primitive lattice. Cuboctahedral single crystals with dimensions up to 100 µm have been grown by melt-spinning techniques. A cubic approximant phase Sc_14.2Cu_10.3Zn_75.5 (ScCu_0.73Zn_5.33) with a concordant lattice constant lies nearby.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank M. J. Kramer for the TEM results (figure 2). This research was supported principally by the US National Science Foundation, Solid State Chemistry, via grants DMR-9809850 and DMR-0129785 and was performed in the Ames Laboratory, US Department of Energy. The Ames Laboratory is operated for the US Department of Energy by Iowa State University under contract W-7405-Eng-82.

Notes

† Email: [email protected].

^a λ = 1.540 598 Å.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John D. Corbett†

† Email: [email protected].