The role of defects in the crystal/quasicrystal transformation

The transformation between quasicrystals and related crystals, the so-called approximant phases, appears as a major point in the understanding of quasicrystal stability. Structural defects of approximant phases seem to be involved in the mechanism of crystal/quasicrystal transformation. Theoretical works as well as observations are supporting this point of view. We here report observations made by transmission electron microscopy on two systems which provide relevant examples for two types of mechanisms. In both cases, the approximant defects are identified as antiphase boundaries. In the first system (Al-Li-Cu), the transformation is due to a progressive organization of the approximant phase defects. In the second system (Fe-Cr-Mo), the vertex of intersecting defects exhibits key structural feature for the transformation in a quasicrystal.