Observation of a dodecagonal oxide quasicrystal and its complex approximant in the SrTiO3-Pt(1 1 1) system

J Phys Condens Matter. 2017 Apr 5;29(13):134002. doi: 10.1088/1361-648X/aa5bdb. Epub 2017 Jan 31.

Abstract

We report on the formation of a SrTiO3-derived dodecagonal oxide quasicrystal (OQC) at the interface to Pt(1 1 1). This is the second observation of a two-dimensional quasicrystal in the class of oxides. The SrTiO3-derived OQC exhibits strong similarities to the BaTiO3-derived OQC with respect to the local tiling geometry. However, the characteristic length scale of the SrTiO3-derived OQC is 1.8% smaller. Coexisting with the OQC a large scale approximant structure with a monoclinic unit cell is identified. It demonstrates the extraordinary level of complexity that oxide approximant structures can reach.