Evidence from electron micrographs that icosahedral quasicrystals are icosahedral twins of cubic crystals

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Oct;87(20):7849-50. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.20.7849.

Abstract

An analysis of electron micrographs of Al5Mn quasicrystals obtained by rapidly cooling a molten alloy with composition Al17Mn and removing the Al matrix by electrosolution, revealing aggregates of 20 microcrystals at the corners of a pentagonal dodecahedron, supports the proposal that these microcrystals are cubic crystals twinned about an icosahedral seed, with each cubic microcrystal sharing a threefold axis and three symmetry planes with the seed.