About quatarons and their unusual properties

A brief overview of the unusual properties of precrystallization clusters called quatarons, which are considered as a special form (new state) of the atomic-molecular organization of matter at the nanoscale, is given. We predicted the formation of such special particles quatarons in 1998. Even then, we noted that quatarons are not nuclei of a new phase. These are particles of a peculiar protophase, which, under certain conditions, transform into protominerals, crystalline nuclei, or other types of nanoparticles. Quatarons have a number of unusual properties. They have no phase boundaries in the usual macroscopic sense. Their morphology cannot be predicted due to their lack of structure. The dynamic structure, the fluctuation of the outer surface, the oscillating character of a number of bonds between atoms distinguish quatarons from ordinary energetically minimized and spatially optimized "classical" clusters. The liquid-solid-phase dualism inherent in quatarons and the associated "polymorphism", open the way for their structural evolution. The crystallogenetic significance of quatarons is that they are ideally suited for the role of crystal-forming particles. However, quatarons are not actually building units, since growth is not carried out by their sequential stacking. In contrast to atomic (Kossel) or microblock (Balarev) mechanisms, the quataron growth of crystals involves a stage of adaptation of the quataron to the crystal structure. For further development of ideas about the unusual properties of quatarons, experiments using a free-electron laser are necessary to study in situ the processes of quatarons formation and evolution under various conditions.