A team of Ames Lab scientists has been nationally recognized for its work with quasicrystals, an effective coating used in mechanical parts and frying pans.

The group of 11 scientists received the 1998 Materials Science Award for “Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment in Materials Chemistry” from the Department of Energy for its work.

Quasicrystals were discovered in 1982 by scientist Dan Schectman, who published a paper in 1984 documenting his discovery of a new state of solid matter. The paper refuted the long-held belief that solid matter existed only in two states: amorphous or crystalline.

“He took an enormous amount of grief for this claim. It defied everybody’s conventional training,” said Patricia Thiel, project coordinator.

Quasicrystals exhibit an ordered structure unlike an amorphous solid and do not form periodically like a crystalline solid, Thiel explained.

The commercial application of quasicrystals began with coated cookware. A quasicrystal frying pan has been produced that is relatively non-stick and is hard enough to resist scratches from cooking utensils.

“It heats up slowly, but the heat spreads out through the [quasicrystal] coating,” Thiel said.

Quasicrystals also may be used to coat mechanical parts.

“We expect our integrated work to lead to other commercial applications ranging from thermal protection of aircraft engines to wear-resistant, reduced-adhesion surfaces for injection-molding dies,” said Dan Sordelet, Ames Lab scientist.

Paul Canfield, professor of physics, and Ian Fisher, who is doing post-doctoral work in physics, recently joined the team of scientists.

Fisher said there is a specific technique used to produce the quasicrystals.

“We used a technique called flux growth,” Fisher said. “This technique is producing high-quality single grain samples where the individual grain is one thousand times the size of individual grains used in previous material.”

He compared the process to growing salt crystals in water, except in the case of quasicrystals, where metallic flux is used.

The group’s efforts have led to ways to grow samples observable to the naked eye. These larger samples allow the scientists to study various properties more closely than before, Fisher said.

The Materials Science Awards are given annually by the DOE to recognize leading researchers.