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Krishnamurthi V, Vaillant PHA, Mata J, Nguyen CK, Parker CJ, Zuraiqi K, Bryant G, Chiang K, Russo SP, Christofferson AJ, Elbourne A, Daeneke T. Structural Evolution of Liquid Metals and Alloys. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2403885. [PMID: 38739417 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202403885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2024] [Revised: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Low-melting liquid metals are emerging as a new group of highly functional solvents due to their capability to dissolve and alloy various metals in their elemental state to form solutions as well as colloidal systems. Furthermore, these liquid metals can facilitate and catalyze multiple unique chemical reactions. Despite the intriguing science behind liquid metals and alloys, very little is known about their fundamental structures in the nanometric regime. To bridge this gap, this work employs small angle neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulations, revealing that the most commonly used liquid metal solvents, EGaIn and Galinstan, are surprisingly structured with the formation of clusters ranging from 157 to 15.7 Å. Conversely, noneutectic liquid metal alloys of GaSn or GaIn at low solute concentrations of 1, 2, and 5 wt%, as well as pure Ga, do not exhibit these structures. Importantly, the eutectic alloys retain their structure even at elevated temperatures of 60 and 90 °C, highlighting that they are not just simple homogeneous fluids consisting of individual atoms. Understanding the complex soft structure of liquid alloys will assist in comprehending complex phenomena occurring within these fluids and contribute to deriving reaction mechanisms in the realm of synthesis and liquid metal-based catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaishnavi Krishnamurthi
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Pierre H A Vaillant
- School of Science, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Jitendra Mata
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS), Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, NSW, 2234, Australia
- School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Chung Kim Nguyen
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Caiden J Parker
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Karma Zuraiqi
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Gary Bryant
- School of Science, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Ken Chiang
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Salvy P Russo
- School of Science, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Andrew J Christofferson
- School of Science, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Aaron Elbourne
- School of Science, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
| | - Torben Daeneke
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3001, Australia
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Zhang W, Wang X, Cao QP, Zhang D, Jiang JZ. Temperature Dependences of Peak Positions in Pair Distribution Function of Metallic Liquids. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:7055-7060. [PMID: 31365259 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b05258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The temperature dependences of the peak positions in pair distribution functions G(r) of pure metallic zinc (Zn) and indium (In) liquids have been studied using high-energy X-ray diffraction together with ab initio molecular dynamic simulations. It has been demonstrated that the first peak positions in G(r) of both Zn and In move to small r, whereas the second peak positions exhibit opposite movements with increasing temperature, originating from different thermal responses of polyhedron connections. However, the third, above peaks in G(r) in both liquids shift to large r with the expansion coefficients smaller than the values of bulk liquids.
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