Quasicrystals as part of an unusual species of intermetallic phases

摘要

Developments in the field of quasicrystallography are reviewed, particularly in the light of recent high-resolution X-ray diffraction data on quasicrystals. The possibility of most, if not all, icosahedral and decagonal phases forming part of a rather unusual species of crystalline intermetallic compounds is explored. An analytical study of available data on binary and ternary aluminium-transition metal alloys leads to the novel concept of Icosahedral Cluster Compounds, distinct from both stoichiometric chemical and Hume-Rothery electron compounds. These new intermetallic phases are shown to nucleate from ordered 13-atom icosahedral clusters and to grow in different ways, depending on their transition metal content. [References: 27]