Bonding network and stability of clusters: the case study of Al₁₃TM₄ pseudo-tenfold surfaces

Clusters, i.e. polyhedral geometric entities, are widely used to describe the structure of complex intermetallic compounds. However, little is generally known about their physical significance. The atomic and electronic structures of the Al₁₃TM₄ complex intermetallic compounds (TM = Fe, Co, Ru, Rh) have been investigated using a wide range of ab initio tools in order to examine the influence of the chemical composition on the pertinence of the bulk structure description based on 3D clusters. In addition, since surface studies were found to be a relevant approach to address the question of cluster stability in complex phases, the interplay of the cluster substructure with the 2D surface is addressed in the case of the Al₁₃Co₄(100) and Al₁₃Fe₄(010) surfaces.