Recently, Professor HE Zhanbing from the USTB Institute for State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials published a quasicrystalline research paper, Labyrinth pattern in a decagonal quasicrystal on  Cell Reports Physical Science, cooperating with Mr. WANG Yanguo, a researcher of Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Walter Steurer from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. In this paper, they reported the Labyrinth pattern in decagonal as-cast Al₆₈Cr₂₆Si₆. In addition, they discovered that the curved walls of a labyrinth can be switched to straight by heating. This is the world’s first time found Labyrinth domains in quasicrystalline structures. Meanwhile, it is an important result in the field of quasicrystals for Prof. HE Zhangbing after he discovered a new solid material form. This finding not only pushes the awareness of quasicrystalline structures further but also has meaningful significance for developing new materials, designing micro-nano structures, constructing artificial labyrinth patterns, architectural decoration, and so on. Professor HE is the first author and the unique corresponding author.

Labyrinth pattern in decagonal quasicrystal

The labyrinth pattern in decagonal as-cast Al₆₈Cr₂₆Si₆ was revealed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) imaging, and the labyrinth walls are highlighted in white. Figures A and B show the labyrinthine domain-wall structure of the decagonal at defocus and underfocus, respectively. Figure C is a fast Fourier transform of the HRTEM image in Figure B. The strong diffraction spots clearly display 10-fold symmetry, indicating an on-average quasiperiodic structure.

Prof. HE studied from Academician GUO Kexin. He consistently researches the field of quasicrystal and has acquired a series of achievements. Here are their results: (1) they have found a new material form, widened the scope of crystallization, and the theory of crystallography,  Acta Crystallogr., Sect. A: Found. Adv.76, 137-144 (2020).  (2) They have discovered a new quasicrystal quasi-unit-cell,  Nat. Commun.11, 6209 (2020). (3) The first discovery of a “carousel” jump of atomic clusters in quasicrystals, Acta Crystallogr., Sect. A: Found. Adv.77, 355-361 (2021).  Professor W.Steurer, an international authority on quasicrystal, thinks this is an “Excellent” result. (4) Near-equiatomic high-entropy decagonal quasicrystal was successfully prepared, which filled the gap of no decagonal quasicrystal in high-entropy alloys,  Sci. China Mater.64, 440-447 (2021).

Draft: YANG Lindi

Revision: CHENG Mingyuan