Precipitation of stable icosahedral quasicrystal phase in a Mg-Zn-Al alloy

Precipitation of a stable quasicrystalline i-phase has been discovered in a Mg-6Zn-3Al (wt%, ZA63) magnesium alloy, possibly a first involving a stable i-phase. Dissolution of i-phase solidified at grain boundaries leads to precipitation in the Mg-matrix during cooling due to a solvus boundary observed by phase diagram calculation. Phase transformation, nucleation characteristics, morphology and interfaces with the matrix have been studied. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed dissolution and precipitation of i-phase during heating and cooling cycles, forming a hysteresis between about 250 and 325°C. The quasilattice parameter a R of i-phase was calculated to be 5.1704 A at room temperature, close to the c-parameter 5.1831A of the Mg-matrix. At dissolution/nucleation, the diffraction peaks of i-phase were sharper, (quasi)lattice constants a R and c Mg become equal to each other (5.225A) and the lattice strain in the matrix was minimized. Precipitation occurred with a fivefold plane parallel to a matrix pyramidal {0111} plane, which gave rise to two possible orientation relationships (OR): 5f||[0001] (OR3’) and 2f||[0001] (OR1). Presence of both ORs in the same precipitates generated icosahedral twinning. The precipitates were faceted sharply on fivefold, twofold and threefold planes which were on basal, prismatic and pyramidal planes of the Mg matrix. Results suggest the OR selection to be nucleation temperature dependent. Based on the crystallographic relationships, 3-dimensional tiling model of icosahedral lattice has been used to model lattice match with the matrix.