Quasicrystal Lattice from Single-component Building Blocks (IMAGE)

Brown University

Quasicrystal Lattice from Single-component Building Blocks

Caption

First discovered in the 1980s, quasicrystals have ordered structures that, unlike normal crystals, lack a predictable repeating pattern. Quasicrystals also have symmetries that are "forbidden" in normal crystals. Researchers from Brown University have demonstrated a new type of quasicrystal structure assembled from a single type of nanoparticle building blocks. Such a structure had been predicted mathematically but never before demonstrated. The image shows a non-repeating structure with 10-fold rotational symmetry.

Credit

Chen lab / Brown University

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