Structural and chemical characterization of the decagonal quasicrystalline phase of an Al62Cu20Co15Si3 alloy obtained in an elliptical furnace

A decagonal quasicrystalline phase and some approximant quasicrystalline phases were found in decaprisms of a spherical sample of an Al62Cu20Co15Si3 alloy obtained in a elliptical mirror furnace. In this work we present scanning and transmission electron microscopies, and X-ray energy dispersion spectroscopy analysis of these structures. The composition of the decagonal phase was Al60Cu23Co15Si2. Therefore, it was found that Si does play a role in the nucleation and growth of this phase and in the special properties that this decagonal phase presents.