LAUSR

This paper reports the natural ordering of nanoparticles along concentric rings in Al-Cu-Fe alloy. Al-CuFe alloy with nominal composition in the vicinity of Al65Cu20Fe15 has drawn intensive interest because of its capability to form stable icosahedral quasicrystalline phase [1]. It has been revealed that, the asprepared alloys of this composition by arc melting consist of β-phase with composition of AlFe(Cu) and cubic crystal structure [2]. Further, it has been reported that the β-phase is of spherical morphology and the surface of the spheres are decorated with concentric rings [2-3]. The diameters of the most inner ring was found to be in the order of 1 μm, while that of the outer-most ring is in the order of 5 μm. The spacing between adjacent rings is in the order of 0.5 μm in the inner region. Our recent studies further revealed that nanoparticles can use these concentric rings as template and form natural patterns, which is reported in the present paper.