12-sided quasicrystal discovered

A new form of a 12-sided quasicrystal has been accidentally discovered by researchers in Germany.

Quasicrystals are a lot like crystals but have one major exception – the pattern of their structure is non-repeating. They occur in nature – in the meteorite that fell in Russia, for example – but can also be created in the lab.

In the latest research published in Nature, scientists from Martin-Luther-Universität accidentally created a 12-side quasicrystal using perovskite oxides when investigating the ways it behaved when used as a layer on to of a metal base.

After exposure to extremely high temperatures, the team noted that the material began to shape into a pattern. They naturally assumed it was a crystal but closer inspection showed that pattern was non-repeating. Perovskite oxides are not normally noted forming into quasicrystals – in fact no one thought it was possible.

The discovery extends the types of quasicrystals which are known to exist, and their unusual structures make possible the creation of materials with unusual properties. Finding ways to create them using materials not normally associated with such odd structures may pave the way to a much broader array of end products. Now they know it’s possible, scientists have opened the door to creating all sorts of new materials from perovskite oxide based quasicrystals, like thermal insulators, or coatings for electronic components.

Quasicrystalline structure formation in a classical crystalline thin-film system http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v502/n7470/full/nature12514.html