New building blocks in the 2/1 crystalline approximant of a Bergman-type icosahedral quasicrystal

The refined x-ray crystal structure of the phase Mg27Al10.7(2)Zn47.3(2) (Pa (3) over bar) establishes it as the new 2/1 Bergman-type approximant of the icosahedral quasicrystal. The primitive cubic lattice consists of condensed triacontahedral and novel prolate rhombohedral (PR) clusters. Each triacontahedron encapsulates the traditional, multiply endohedral Bergman-type clusters, and each PR encapsulates an Al-2 dimer. This phase exhibits the same long-range order as recently established for the Tsai-type Sc-Mg-Zn 2/1 approximant crystal, with substantial geometric and atomic distribution differences between the two only in the short range orders. This common feature suggests that Bergman- and Tsai-type quasicrystals may be more similar than earlier conceived. Factors germane to the formation of, and the differences between, Bergman- vs. Tsai-type 1/1 and 2/1 approximate structures are considered, including notably different distributions of the more electropositive elements.