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Which materials can form quasicrystals with aluminum?
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materials science
Movement of an electron hole in a crystal lattice.
In materials science, aluminum is notably prone to forming quasicrystals when alloyed with various other metals. These structures are common in intermetallic compounds that combine aluminum with transition metals and other elements.12
Specific materials known to form quasicrystals with aluminum include:
- Iron, Cobalt, and Nickel: These metals are frequently used in aluminum-based alloys to produce quasicrystalline structures.1
- Manganese: One of the earliest discovered quasicrystals was an aluminum-manganese alloy.3
- Copper and Iron: Aluminum-copper-iron is a well-studied icosahedral quasicrystal.2
- Other Combinations: Quasicrystals have also been identified in compounds such as aluminum-manganese-palladium, aluminum-magnesium-zinc, aluminum-copper-lithium, aluminum-copper-cobalt, aluminum-nickel-cobalt, aluminum-copper-nickel, aluminum-manganese-silicon, and aluminum-copper-ruthenium.324
While aluminum is highly conducive to these formations, it is not strictly required; icosahedral quasicrystals can also form from other combinations, such as gallium-magnesium-zinc or titanium-manganese.2