dan shechtman
Dan Shechtman’s discovery of quasicrystals brought about a paradigm change in chemistry, physics, materials science, and other areas of science and engineering. Although superficially it could be looked at as a serendipitous event, Shechtman’s curiosity and drive played equal parts with serendipity in this discovery.
Shechtman was a lonely discoverer, again, seemingly detached from the main stream of generalized crystallography for which his contribution was a milestone.
an alloy based on quasicrystals of the al-cu-fe system
Al (aluminum)
Сu (cuprum)
Fe (ferrum)
Quasicrystalline powder
Friction coefficient on steel
0,2
Density
4 g / cm3
Thermal conductivity
2 W / (m • K)
Dispersion of the base powder
1-63 microns (can be changed at the request of the customer)
Hardness
800-1000 HV
Resistivity (at T br)
4,5 mOhm ∙ cm
nobel prize
Shechtman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011 for his work on quasicrystals. “His discovery of quasicrystals revealed a new principle for packing of atoms and molecules,” stated the Nobel Committee and pointed that “this led to a paradigm shift within chemistry.”
In 2014, Post of Israel issued a stamp dedicated to quasicrystals
and the 2011 Nobel Prize.
Quasicrystal
1945
1961
1972
1982
Shechtman first observed ten-fold electron diffraction patterns in 1982, while conducting a routine study of an aluminium-manganese alloy, Al6Mn, at the US National Bureau of Standards (later NIST). Shechtman related his observation to Ilan Blech, who responded that such diffractions had been seen before.Around that time, Shechtman also related his finding to John W. Cahn of the NIST, who did not offer any explanation and challenged him to solve the observation. Shechtman quoted Cahn as saying: “Danny, this material is telling us something, and I challenge you to find out what it is”.
1984
Shechtman accepted Blech’s discovery of a new type of material and chose to publish his observation in a paper entitled “The Microstructure of Rapidly Solidified Al6Mn”, which was written around June 1984 and published in a 1985 edition of Metallurgical Transactions A. Meanwhile, on seeing the draft of the paper, John Cahn suggested that Shechtman’s experimental results merit a fast publication in a more appropriate scientific journal. Shechtman agreed and, in hindsight, called this fast publication “a winning move”. This paper, published in the Physical Review Letters, repeated Shechtman’s observation and used the same illustrations as the original paper.
1985
Also in 1985, Ishimasa et al. reported twelvefold symmetry in Ni-Cr particles. Soon, eightfold diffraction patterns were recorded in V-Ni-Si and Cr-Ni-Si alloys. Over the years, hundreds of quasicrystals with various compositions and different symmetries have been discovered. The first quasicrystalline materials were thermodynamically unstable—when heated, they formed regular crystals. However, in 1987, the first of many stable quasicrystals were discovered, making it possible to produce large samples for study and applications.
1992
In 1992, the International Union of Crystallography altered its definition of a crystal, reducing it to the ability to produce a clear-cut diffraction pattern and acknowledging the possibility of the ordering to be either periodic or aperiodic.
2001
In 2001, Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University hypothesized that quasicrystals could exist in nature and developed a method of recognition, inviting all the mineralogical collections of the world to identify any badly cataloged crystals. In 2007 Steinhardt received a reply by Luca Bindi, who found a quasicrystalline specimen from Khatyrka in the University of Florence Mineralogical Collection. The crystal samples were sent to Princeton University for other tests, and in late 2009, Steinhardt confirmed its quasicrystalline character. This quasicrystal, with a composition of Al63Cu24Fe13, was named icosahedrite and it was approved by the International Mineralogical Association in 2010. Analysis indicates it may be meteoritic in origin, possibly delivered from a carbonaceous chondrite asteroid. In 2011, Bindi, Steinhardt, and a team of specialists found more icosahedrite samples from Khatyrka. A further study of Khatyrka meteorites revealed micron-sized grains of another natural quasicrystal, which has a ten-fold symmetry and a chemical formula of Al71Ni24Fe5.. This quasicrystal is stable in a narrow temperature range, from 1120 to 1200 K at ambient pressure, which suggests that natural quasicrystals are formed by rapid quenching of a meteorite heated during an impact-induced shock.
2011
Shechtman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2011 for his work on quasicrystals. “His discovery of quasicrystals revealed a new principle for packing of atoms and molecules,” stated the Nobel Committee and pointed that “this led to a paradigm shift within chemistry.” In 2014, Post of Israel issued a stamp dedicated to quasicrystals and the 2011 Nobel Prize.
2018
In 2018, chemists from Brown University announced the successful creation of a self-constructing lattice structure based on a strangely shaped quantum dot. While single-component quasicrystal lattices have been previously predicted mathematically and in computer simulations, they had not been demonstrated prior to this.
Recent Blog
Author: E. J. Widjaja, L. D. MarksInstitute: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Cook Hall, 2225 North Campus Drive, 2036, Evanston, IL 60208-3108, USAThis study presents the results of the analysis of quasicrystalline thin films of the Al–Cu–Fe–Cr system obtained by magnetron sputtering. Quasicrystals, characterized by an unusual fourth symmetry of the structure, […]
Author: KS Evangelista, DGL Cavalcante Institute: Technological Center of the Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Paraiba, BrazilX-ray diffraction (XRD) is a powerful tool for studying quasi-crystalline phases in high-energy milled powders such as Al/AlCuFe. Quasicrystals, possessing a unique order of matter in three-dimensional space, exhibit anomalous physical properties, making them an object of active […]
Author: Kyungjun Lee, Jialin Hsu, Donald Naugle, Hong LiangInstitute: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3123, USA, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USASince their introduction in 1984, quasicrystals have attracted considerable attention in the fields of chemical catalysis, thermal insulation, and protective coatings. […]
Author: VV Tcherdyntsev, SD Kaloshkin, EV Shelekhov, AI Salimon, S. Sartori, G. PrincipiInstitute: Materials and INFM Sector, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Padua, via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padua, ItalyThe formation of a quasicrystalline phase in the mechanically alloyed Al–Cu–Fe system is an interesting area of study in materials science. The processes occurring in this […]
Author: Ronald van Buuren∗, Jilt Sietsma, A. van den Beukel Institute: Delft University of Technology, Materials Science Laboratory, Rotterdamseweg 137, 2628 AL, Delft, The NetherlandsThe crystallization of the “stable” AlCuFe quasicrystal is a unique phenomenon that attracts the attention of both researchers and technologists. This type of quasicrystal, composed of aluminum, copper, and iron, has […]
Author: U Köster, W Liu, H Liebertz, M MichelInstitute: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Dortmund, W-4600 Dortmund 50, GermanyThe study of mechanical properties of quasicrystalline and crystalline phases in Al-Cu-Fe alloys is an important task in materials science, since these properties determine the functionality and stability of materials under various operating conditions. Quasicrystalline phases, […]
Author: U Köster, W Liu, H Liebertz, M MichelInstitute: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Dortmund, W-4600 Dortmund 50, GermanyThe study of mechanical properties of quasicrystalline and crystalline phases in Al-Cu-Fe alloys is an important task in materials science, since these properties determine the functionality and stability of materials under various operating conditions. Quasicrystalline phases, […]
Author: M.A. Suarez, I.A. Figueroa, G. Gonzalez, G.A. Lara-Rodriguez, O. Novelo-Peralta, I. Alfonso, I.J. CalvoInstitute: Institute for Materials Research, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Circuito Exterior S/N, Cd. Universitaria, CP 04510 Mexico City, DF, MexicoThe production of Al-Cu-Fe metal foams without foaming agents or blowing agents is an innovative approach in materials science that […]
Author:F. Haidaraa, B. Duployer, D. Mangelinck, M.-C. RecordInstitute: IM2NP, UMR 6242 CNRS – Aix-Marseille University, Avenue Escadrille Normandy-Niemen, building 142, 13397 Marseille, FranceQuasicrystals, first discovered by Shechtman and colleagues in 1984, have a unique ordered structure known as quasi-periodic. Experiments have shown that high-quality samples of the stable quasi-crystalline phase exhibit exceptionally high resistivity, ranging […]
Author:L.MZhanga, H.C. Zhang, Q.G. Zhou, C. DongInstitute: Department of Materials Science, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, ChinaQuasicrystals, discovered by Shechtman and other scientists in 1984, became a real sensation in the field of crystallography. However, their use in technology has not lived up to expectations. The main obstacles to this are their fragility and […]