On the adaptability of 1/1 cubic approximant structure in the Mg­Al­Zn system with the particular example of Mg32Al12Zn2Zn37

Abstract : Intermetallic Mg alloys are of interest in the development of light materials with specific properties and some of them are crystalline approximants of quasicrystalline materials. Mg32Al12Zn37 single crystal structure, cubic, Im3, a = 14.1845(1) Å, is disordered and belongs to the well known 1/1 approximant structural type commonly called Mg32(Al1-xZnx)49 or T-phase. In this family, Mg32Al12Zn37 is a new member remarkable for its very special composition nearby intersection of the 2/1 and 1/1 lines that mark composition domains of cubic 2/1 and 1/1 approximants. Structural features are discussed comparatively with literature data to emphasize the great adaptability through atom disorder of the 1/1 structure.