Researchers at Ames Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating to understand how the surface properties of quasicrystals are related to their structure and chemical composition. Research at these laboratories and Sandia National Laboratories supports the view that both are important. This helps explain the corrosion resistance and limited reactions with other materials. Under typical environmental conditions the aluminum-based materials form a thin layer of aluminum oxide at the surface which protects the bulk from additional oxidation. The thickness of the oxide will depend upon moisture in the air, but remains quite thin.
Pure aluminum exhibits similar behavior.
The slipperiness, or low friction, of quasicrystals can be traced at least in part, to the hardness. The hardness of quasicrystals arises because of their lack of atomic planes which can slip relative to one another. This hardness reduces the contact area between materials and the ability to dissipate energy via plane slippage. Polymers have found a multitude of uses, however they typically have a few undesirable properties, such as scratching easily. If they could be more quasicrystalline-like, this would be quite advantageous.