Disordered, quasicrystalline and crystalline phases of densely packed tetrahedra

Amir Haji-Akbari, Michael Engel, Aaron S. Keys, Xiaoyu Zheng, Rolfe G. Petschek, Peter Palffy-Muhoray and Sharon C. Glotzer ()
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Amir Haji-Akbari: Department of Chemical Engineering,
Michael Engel: Department of Chemical Engineering,
Aaron S. Keys: Department of Chemical Engineering,
Xiaoyu Zheng: Department of Mathematical Sciences,
Rolfe G. Petschek: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
Peter Palffy-Muhoray: Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
Sharon C. Glotzer: Department of Chemical Engineering,

Nature, 2009, vol. 462, issue 7274, 773-777

Abstract: A surprise package One of the simplest shapes for which the densest packing arrangement remains unresolved is the regular tetrahedron — despite much theoretical, computational and experimental effort. Using a novel approach involving thermodynamic computer simulations that allow the system to evolve naturally towards high-density states, Sharon Glotzer and colleagues have worked out the densest ordered packing yet for tetrahedra, a configuration with a packing fraction of 0.8324. Unexpectedly, the structure is a dodecagonal quasicrystal, the first example of a quasicrystal formed from hard particles or from non-spherical building blocks.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08641

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