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arXiv · 1503.04846

New kind of dodecagonal quasicrystal

Alfredo Metere·Peter Oleynikov·Mikhail Dzugutov·Sven Lidin
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Abstract

We report a novel kind of dodecagonal quasicrystal that has so far never been observed, nor theoretically predicted. It is composed of axially stacked hexagonal particle layers, with 12-fold rotational symmetry induced by 30 degrees rotation of adjacent layers with respect to each other. The quasicrystal was produced in a molecular-dynamics simulation of a single-component system of particles interacting via a spherically-symmetric potential, as a result of a first-order phase transition from a liquid phase under constant-density cooling. This finding implies that a similarly structured quasicrystal can possibly be produced by the mesogens of the kind that produce smectic-B crystals and in a system of spherically-shaped colloidal particles with appropriately tuned potential.

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Alfredo Metere, Peter Oleynikov, Mikhail Dzugutov, Sven Lidin. 2015-03-16. New kind of dodecagonal quasicrystal. https://arxiv.org/abs/1503.04846

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