Australian and New Zealand experts have created metal snowflakes using nanotechnology. In the future, this will help develop stronger and lighter materials, clean the environment or produce innovative electronic products. The results of the study were published in the journal Science.
To create metal nanocrystals, New Zealand and Australian scientists experimented with gallium, a soft silvery metal used in semiconductors that turns into a liquid just above room temperature.
The authors worked with nickel, copper, zinc, tin, platinum, bismuth, silver and aluminum. The metals were then dissolved in gallium at high temperatures. After cooling, the gallium remained liquid, while metal crystals (presented in the form of cubes, rods, and hexagonal plates) formed. This happened because of the interaction between the atomic structures of various metals and liquid gallium. The experts emphasize that unlike top-down approaches by cutting the material, this method relies on the self-assembly of atoms.
Source: Port Altele
