Abstract
We report the structural and physical properties of two Y-Au-Si (YAS) compounds, ${\mathrm{Y}}_{14.1}{\mathrm{Au}}_{69.2}{\mathrm{Si}}_{16.7}$ and ${\mathrm{Y}}_{15.4}{\mathrm{Au}}_{68.6}{\mathrm{Si}}_{16.1}$, which are 1/1 approximant crystals of a Tsai-type quasicrystal without intrinsic magnetic moments. The compounds differ by the presence of either a tetrahedron (Au,Si)${}_{4}$ or a single Y atom at the center of their characteristic structural building unit consisting of concentric polyhedral shells. Both compounds exhibit bulk superconductivity, which seems to be of a conventional type-II BCS type. The compound with Y atoms at the cluster center has a slightly higher transition temperature with a sharper step in the specific heat than the compound with tetrahedral units. We discuss the occurrence of this superconducting state in the light of the specific structural and physical properties of these quasicrystal approximants.
Highlights
Quasicrystals (QCs) are unique crystals that possess longrange aperiodic order with diffraction symmetries forbidden in conventional crystals [1]
The compounds differ by the presence of either a tetrahedron (Au,Si)4 or a single Y atom at the center of their characteristic structural building unit consisting of concentric polyhedral shells
There is a tetrahedral unit at the cluster center [see Fig. 1(b)], which is orientationally disordered for the QCs and the cubic approximant crystals (ACs)
Summary
Quasicrystals (QCs) are unique crystals that possess longrange aperiodic order with diffraction symmetries forbidden in conventional crystals [1]. We report the structural and physical properties of two Y-Au-Si (YAS) compounds, Y14.1Au69.2Si16.7 and Y15.4Au68.6Si16.1, which are 1/1 approximant crystals of a Tsai-type quasicrystal without intrinsic magnetic moments. The compound with Y atoms at the cluster center has a slightly higher transition temperature with a sharper step in the specific heat than the compound with tetrahedral units.
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