Discovery of an Earthborn quasicrystal approximant
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00025798%3A_____%2F25%3A10169684" target="_blank" >RIV/00025798:_____/25:10169684 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2024-9679" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2024-9679</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2138/am-2024-9679" target="_blank" >10.2138/am-2024-9679</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Discovery of an Earthborn quasicrystal approximant
Original language description
Natural quasicrystals, compounds with characteristics intermediate between crystalline material and glass, have been so far discovered in extraterrestrial materials only. Furthermore, their occurrence in nature is limited to metallic, Al-bearing alloys. The presence of metallic aluminum in these minerals raised doubts about their potential occurrence in terrestrial rocks. The geochemical conditions needed to form metallic Al are so reducing that they are considered very unlikely in a terrestrial environment. Given the report of dodecagonal symmetry in the synthetic Ta1.6Te quasicrystal, the search for terrestrial quasicrystals was focused on natural tellurides.Here, we report the discovery of the first terrestrial approximant of a dodecagonal quasicrystal, a Pd-Ni-telluride with formula Pd3Ni4Te8 and tetragonal symmetry, which was found as small inclusions in a rock sample from Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Periodic approximants are crystalline materials that share a similar chemical composition with quasicrystals but have a slightly altered atomic structure, aligning their symmetry with the traditional principles of three-dimensional crystallography. These crystalline approximants provide insights into the local atomic structure of their corresponding quasicrystals.Natural Pd3Ni4Te8 has been approved as a new mineral by the International Mineralogical Association with the name proxitwelvefoldite (IMA 2024-034). The Pd3Ni4Te8 composition has never been reported to form quasicrystal approximants among synthetic products and could indicate the possible existence of a 12-fold quasicrystal in the Pd-Ni-Te system. The discovery points to the possibility that the quasicrystalline structure may be much more common than previously thought, even in non-alloy systems.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
10504 - Mineralogy
Result continuities
Project
<a href="/en/project/GA22-26485S" target="_blank" >GA22-26485S: Synthetic platinum-group minerals and their applications</a><br>
Continuities
P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
American Mineralogist
ISSN
0003-004X
e-ISSN
1945-3027
Volume of the periodical
110
Issue of the periodical within the volume
4
Country of publishing house
US - UNITED STATES
Number of pages
5
Pages from-to
650-654
UT code for WoS article
001457462200008
EID of the result in the Scopus database
2-s2.0-105002174726