2022 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Advanced direct local structure determination of quasicrystals in physical space
Publicly Offered Research
| Project Area | Hypermaterials: Inovation of materials scinece in hyper space |
|---|
| Project/Area Number |
22H04595
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2022-04-01 – 2024-03-31
|
| Keywords | hypermaterial / atomic structure / X-ray holography / local structure / quasicrystal |
|---|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This project aims to investigate the structure of Hypermaterials using Atomic Resolution Holography (ARH) experiments with a micro-to-nano focus. This will lead to a significant reduction in the required size of single-crystal samples for ARH measurement. Since many systems cannot be grown to large crystals, this approach will make ARH more accessible to a wider variety of potential material systems.
The information from ARH can provide insight into the local structure without the need of any a-priori model, and can complement other crystallographic data to obtain a comprehensive structural view. Finally, using ARH for aperiodic systems opens new ways to understand also other structurally complex systems, e.g. incommensurate phases or crystals with large structural disorder.
During the current fiscal year, we have effectively employed synchrotron beams with a focal size of less than 50 micrometers on the sample for a series of icosahedral CdMgTb and decagonal AlCoNi quasicrystals and approximants. Our findings reveal an hitherto undiscovered ordering phenomenon among the icosahedral clusters within CdMgTb, that is strengthening with increasing structural complexity. This phenomenon is discernible owing to the holographic methodology utilized, which provides three-dimensional, element-specific structural insights. Subsequent investigation into this effect is presently underway.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Experiments at large-scale research facilities are on schedule, and further works, such as the subsequent investigation of the newly discovered ordering effect, are presently underway.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
To further widen the area of applicability of X-ray holography for hypermaterials, we plan to implement a soft X-ray setup. This will enable the characterization of lighter elements, specifically Al, which is a significant building block in numerous Hypermaterials. It is also planned to test a low-temperature setup for investigating the effect of temperature on the structural properties.
|
