Composition-Dependent Electrical Resistivity in an Al-Re-Si 1 /1-Cubic Approximant Phase: An Indication of Electron Confinement in Clusters

We report the synthesis of α-AlReSi and show that it is a 1/1-cubic approximant phase of the icosahedral quasicrystal with a = 12.9 Å. The trend of the resistivity of the new approximant phase shows a nonmetallic character, similar to those seen in the stable icosahedral phases. The resistivity depends sensitively on the Re concentration and the nonmetallic transport is observed only at the Re concentration close to 17.4 at. %, where the transition metal sites in the icosahedral cluster are exclusively occupied by Re atoms. In view of a recent ab initio calculation, the present result suggests strongly the formation of the virtual bound states, or confinement of electrons, in the icosahedral clusters of transition metal atoms.