Researchers from the University of Auckland discovered new aspects of the structure and behavior of gallium at the atomic level.
Gallium has unique properties for a metal, such as existing as “dimers” (pairs of atoms) and having covalent bonds where atoms share electrons.
It was previously assumed that gallium’s covalent bonds disappear at its melting point and do not reappear. However, the new study found the bonds do reappear at higher temperatures, challenging long-held views.
This discovery necessitates re-explaining gallium’s low melting point. The researchers propose increased entropy (disorder) allows the bonds to break and frees up the atoms.
Understanding gallium’s behavior with temperature is important for nanotechnology where it is used in self-assembling structures and to dissolve other metals.
Gallium has various applications from semiconductors to thermometers. It also may help detect traces of past life on Mars.
The researchers uncovered this new behavior of gallium’s covalent bonds reappearing at high temperatures, overturning a fundamental assumption of decades of prior literature on liquid gallium.
Source: SciTechDaily
