A research group based in Stockholm University and Tohoku University has successfully produced a new type of silica mesoporous material with a 12-fold symmetry through chemically processing inter-micellar interaction. This substance takes the form of a particle that has an outward appearance of a regular dodecahedral prism with a size of several micrometers. The cross section under a high resolution electron microscope reveals a tiling composed of square- and triangle-shaped units. Upon closer analysis of the tiling, it has been confirmed that a quasicrystal with a 12-fold symmetry is formed at the center of the cross section with 12 fans of crystalline domains surrounding it. The structure of the center demonstrates improved quasicrystalinity compared to existing mesoscale quasicrystals.

 The substance produced in this research is important, not only as a mesoscale quasicrystal with improved structural quality, but also as the first inorganic non-metallic hard-matter quasicrystal. The present results may contribute to a development of a more ideal quasicrystal with reduced structural imperfections, whereby a way to practical applications could be opened.

 The work has been published in Nature on July 19, 2012.

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Assistant Professor Nobuhisa Fujita

Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University

TEL: +81-22-217-5723

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Professor Tsai An-Pang

Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University

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