Ordering and growth of rare gas films (Xe, Kr, Ar, and Ne) on the pseudo-ten-fold quasicrystalline approximant Al13Co4(100) surface

Abstract

Adsorption of the rare gases Kr, Ar, and Ne on the complex alloy surface Al13Co4(100) was studied using grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) computer simulations. This surface is an approximant to the ten-fold decagonal Al–Ni–Co quasicrystalline surface, on which rare gas adsorption was studied previously. Comparison of adsorption results on the periodic Al13Co4(100) surface with those of the quasiperiodic Al–Ni–Co surface indicates some similarities, such as layer-by-layer growth, and some dissimilarities, such as the formation of Archimedes tiling phases (Mikhael et al 2008 Nature 454 501, Shechtman et al 1984 Phys. Rev. Lett. 53 1951, Macia 2006 Rep. Prog. Phys. 69 397, Schmiedeberg et al 2010 Eur. Phys. J. E 32 25–34, Kromer et al 2012 Phys. Rev. Lett. 108 218301, Schmiedeberg and Stark 2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 101 218302). The conditions under which Archimedes tiling phases (ATP) emerge on Al13Co4(100) are examined and their presence is related to the gas–gas and gas–surface interaction parameters.