Liquid metal synthesis solvents for metallic crystals.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36480610.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.abm2731.
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Abstract
In nature, snowflake ice crystals arrange themselves into diverse symmetrical six-sided structures. We show an analogy of this when zinc (Zn) dissolves and crystallizes in liquid gallium (Ga). The low-melting-temperature Ga is used as a "metallic solvent" to synthesize a range of flake-like Zn crystals. We extract these metallic crystals from the liquid metal solvent by reducing its surface tension using a combination of electrocapillary modulation and vacuum filtration. The liquid metal-grown crystals feature high morphological diversity and persistent symmetry. The concept is expanded to other single and binary metal solutes and Ga-based solvents, with the growth mechanisms elucidated through ab initio simulation of interfacial stability. This strategy offers general routes for creating highly crystalline, shape-controlled metallic or multimetallic fine structures from liquid metal solvents.