Chemical Bonding and Physical Properties in Quasicrystals and Their Related Approximant Phases: Known Facts and Current Perspectives

Quasicrystals are a class of ordered solids made of typical metallic atoms but they do not exhibit the physical properties that usually signal the presence of metallic bonding, and their electrical and thermal transport properties resemble a more semiconductor-like than metallic character. In this p...

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Main Author: Enrique Maciá Barber
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/10/2132
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spelling doaj-75373075915443198b23e487efdcccdd2020-11-25T02:07:59ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172019-05-01910213210.3390/app9102132app9102132Chemical Bonding and Physical Properties in Quasicrystals and Their Related Approximant Phases: Known Facts and Current PerspectivesEnrique Maciá Barber0Departamento Física de Materiales, Facultad CC. Físicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, SpainQuasicrystals are a class of ordered solids made of typical metallic atoms but they do not exhibit the physical properties that usually signal the presence of metallic bonding, and their electrical and thermal transport properties resemble a more semiconductor-like than metallic character. In this paper I first review a number of experimental results and numerical simulations suggesting that the origin of the unusual properties of these compounds can be traced back to two main features. For one thing, we have the formation of covalent bonds among certain atoms grouped into clusters at a local scale. Thus, the nature of chemical bonding among certain constituent atoms should play a significant role in the onset of non-metallic physical properties of quasicrystals bearing transition-metal elements. On the other hand, the self-similar symmetry of the underlying structure gives rise to the presence of an extended chemical bonding network due to a hierarchical nesting of clusters. This novel structural design leads to the existence of quite diverse wave functions, whose transmission characteristics range from extended to almost localized ones. Finally, the potential of quasicrystals as thermoelectric materials is discussed on the basis of their specific transport properties.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/10/2132quasicrystalschemical bondthermoelectric materials
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Enrique Maciá Barber
spellingShingle Enrique Maciá Barber
Chemical Bonding and Physical Properties in Quasicrystals and Their Related Approximant Phases: Known Facts and Current Perspectives
Applied Sciences
quasicrystals
chemical bond
thermoelectric materials
author_facet Enrique Maciá Barber
author_sort Enrique Maciá Barber
title Chemical Bonding and Physical Properties in Quasicrystals and Their Related Approximant Phases: Known Facts and Current Perspectives
title_short Chemical Bonding and Physical Properties in Quasicrystals and Their Related Approximant Phases: Known Facts and Current Perspectives
title_full Chemical Bonding and Physical Properties in Quasicrystals and Their Related Approximant Phases: Known Facts and Current Perspectives
title_fullStr Chemical Bonding and Physical Properties in Quasicrystals and Their Related Approximant Phases: Known Facts and Current Perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Chemical Bonding and Physical Properties in Quasicrystals and Their Related Approximant Phases: Known Facts and Current Perspectives
title_sort chemical bonding and physical properties in quasicrystals and their related approximant phases: known facts and current perspectives
publisher MDPI AG
series Applied Sciences
issn 2076-3417
publishDate 2019-05-01
description Quasicrystals are a class of ordered solids made of typical metallic atoms but they do not exhibit the physical properties that usually signal the presence of metallic bonding, and their electrical and thermal transport properties resemble a more semiconductor-like than metallic character. In this paper I first review a number of experimental results and numerical simulations suggesting that the origin of the unusual properties of these compounds can be traced back to two main features. For one thing, we have the formation of covalent bonds among certain atoms grouped into clusters at a local scale. Thus, the nature of chemical bonding among certain constituent atoms should play a significant role in the onset of non-metallic physical properties of quasicrystals bearing transition-metal elements. On the other hand, the self-similar symmetry of the underlying structure gives rise to the presence of an extended chemical bonding network due to a hierarchical nesting of clusters. This novel structural design leads to the existence of quite diverse wave functions, whose transmission characteristics range from extended to almost localized ones. Finally, the potential of quasicrystals as thermoelectric materials is discussed on the basis of their specific transport properties.
topic quasicrystals
chemical bond
thermoelectric materials
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/10/2132
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