Atoms “swim” in a liquid for the first time

Scholars have captured and observed platinum atoms “swim” on a liquid surface under different pressure. They used thin materials to be two-dimensional. The result would be to understand how a liquid changes the behavior of a solid it is in contact with.

Given the widespread industrial and scientific importance of such behavior, it is truly astonishing how much we still have to learn about the basics of how atoms behave on surfaces that come into contact with liquids. One of the reasons for the lack of information is the lack of techniques that can produce experimental data for solid-liquid interfaces.

Sarah Haigh, materials scientist at the University of Manchester, UK

When solids and liquids come into contact, everyone’s behavior changes at their meeting point. This is important for understanding the different processes. The world up atomic scale it’s hard to see. TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy), which uses electrons to create an image, is one of the techniques available.

Yet it is complicated. Fortunately, a form of TEM has been created to work in gaseous and liquid environments. Here’s what the team used in their research. Microscope slides were then made to hold the atoms. The graphene it is ideal, strong, waterproof and two-dimensional. Next, a graphene liquid cell was merged with existing TEM technology.

The cell was filled with salt water and platinum atoms. The scientists observed the atoms moving on a solid surface of molybdenum disulfide. Some atoms on it traveled faster, while others stopped to rest at some points on the solid surface. The behavior of the atoms was different depending on the pressure variations of the environment.

In our work, we show that misleading information is provided when atomic behavior is studied in a vacuum rather than using our liquid cells.

Nick Clark, materials engineer at the University of Manchester