Formation of a dodecagonal phase in the nano-sized Ag-Pt multilayers upon solid-state reaction

A dodecagonal quasicrystalline phase was grown in nano-sized Ag-Pt multilayers upon solid-state reaction and the existence of the respective metastable state in the Ag-Pt system was also confirmed by ion-beam mixing experiments. The major driving force for intermixing between the nano-sized Ag and Pt layers, as well as for the crystal-to-quasicrystal transition, was thought to be the interfacial free energy, which elevated the initial Ag-Pt multilayers up to an energetic state corresponding to the dodecagonal phase.