Using ultrathin materials that are effectively two-dimensional, the camera captured the movement of single atoms in a liquid for the first time, and scientists observed that platinum atoms “float” on one surface beneath another. different pressure.
The findings will help to better understand how the presence of a liquid changes the behavior of the solid with which it interacts, which could have implications that could lead to the development of new materials.
Material scientist Sarah Hay, from the University of Manchester in the UK, explained: “Given the widespread industrial and scientific importance of such behaviour, we still need to learn the fundamentals of the behavior of atoms at interacting surfaces. Liquids One reason for the loss of information is the experimental data for solid-liquid interfaces. It is the lack of production techniques.
Clark et al., University of Manchester
When a solid and a liquid come into contact with each other, the behavior of both substances changes where they meet. These interactions are important for understanding a wide variety of processes and applications, such as the transport of substances in our bodies or the movement of ions in batteries.
As the researchers point out, it is very difficult to see the world at the atomic level. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which uses a beam of electrons to create an image, is one of several technologies available.
However, it is difficult to obtain reliable data on the behavior of atoms in this way. Previous studies on liquid graphene cells have been promising, but yielded inconsistent results. In addition, TEM typically requires a high vacuum environment to operate. This is a problem because many materials do not behave the same under different pressure conditions.
Fortunately, a form of TEM has been developed to work in liquid and gaseous environments, which the team uses for their research.
The next step is to create a custom set of microscopic “slides” that will contain the atoms. Graphene is an ideal material for these experiments because it is two-dimensional, strong, inert and impermeable. Building on previous work, the team developed a dual graphene liquid cell that can work with current TEM technology.
This cell was filled with a finely tuned salt solution containing platinum atoms that the team observed moving across a solid molybdenum disulfide surface.
The pictures reveal some great ideas. For example, atoms in the liquid move faster than outside, choosing different places to settle on the solid surface.
In addition, the results inside and outside the vacuum chamber differed, suggesting that differences in environmental pressure may affect how the atoms behave. Also, the results of experiments obtained in vacuum chambers do not necessarily indicate this behavior in the real world.
Materials engineer Nick Clark, from the University of Manchester, said: “In our work, we show that the wrong information is given if atomic behavior is studied in a vacuum instead of liquid cell. This is a significant achievement and is just the beginning. He who wants to use this technology to support the development of materials for chemical processing.sustainable development, which is necessary to achieve the zero goal.
The materials the team worked with are related to the production of green hydrogen, but their method and results have broader implications, the researchers said.
The article was published in the journal Nature.
Source: Science Alert
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