Interfaces in icosahedrally related structures: problems and prospects

Abstract

Icosahedral quasicrystals are frequently observed to coexist with their related phases like pentagonal/decagonal quasicrystals and rational approximant structures. Owing to this, they have common interfaces. The crystallography of these interfaces needs consideration for providing an aid for their characterization through experiments. The purpose of this communication is to present examples of heterophase and homophase interfaces in quasicrystalline systems and to discuss their structural details in terms of higher dimensional crystallography. Some of the uncommon aspects of these interfaces vis-a-vis their crystalline counterparts will be highlighted. We shall conclude by identifying the problems and prospects of further research in this area.