When a solid and a liquid come into contact with each other, the behavior of both materials changes. This interaction between substances appears in many processes such as the transport of various substances within our own body or the movement of ions in batteries. However, this interaction has not been fully observed by the scientific world until now.
In recent days, with the help of developing technology and new methods, a first in the scientific world has been achieved. For the first time, scientists managed to record how atomic particles behave in a liquid. So how was this achieved? Most importantly, what will this discovery do?
How was the landmark work done?
The behavior of atoms in a liquid was made possible by a new technique called transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which is derived from a technique that uses a beam of electrons to create an image. While TEM cannot operate normally in liquid and gaseous environments, this has been paved the way with the new technique developed.
In the next step, scientists developed a pair of graphene liquid cells that can work with existing TEM technology. This cell was filled with a precisely controlled saline solution. This solution allowed platinum atoms to move over the surface of a solid molybdenum disulfide. The resulting image was as follows:
The resulting image showed that atoms move faster in the liquid, choosing different places on the solid surface to ‘rest’. However, tests conducted in the vacuum chamber also revealed interesting information. He pointed out that changing pressure in the environment could change how atoms behave. It was also discovered that the results of tests performed in the vacuum chamber may differ from the real world.
So what will this information do for us?
According to the scientists, the new study was a landmark achievement and will only serve as a prelude to the future. The newly developed technique could be used to develop materials for sustainable chemical processing necessary to meet the world’s net zero goals. In addition, the development of new substances and materials will be possible thanks to this discovery.
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