Three-dimensional model of quasicrystalline atomic structure

A three-dimensional model of quasicrystalline atomic structure is proposed. The model originates from a 33-atom dodecahedral cluster and involves a strategy allowing us to progressively increase the size of the system using only three basic clusters as building blocks. The structure obtained is characterized simultaneously by dense local atomic packing and by global quasicrystalline properties (intrinsic icosahedral symmetry, the absence of translational order, and self-similarity at different length scales). A 439-atom computer model has been built following the proposed strategy and has demonstrated the possibility to combine global quasicrystalline symmetry with a reasonable local packing of atoms. Tn order to elucidate the hierarchical nature of the long-range order in the proposed model, it is also analyzed using the disclination network approach.