news hardware A new material with strange properties has just been discovered and is intriguing scientists
Thousands of researchers work on alternative consumer solutions every day. Between the ecological transition and the search for new sources of material, American scientists have in fact managed to create a more than surprising material.
A conductive and solid material
In the United States, more precisely at the University of Chicago, a group of researchers managed to create a rather unusual material. A bit like “classic” plastic, this material is characterized by its disordered molecular fragmentation, which may well have more properties than we think.
Obviously not all materials have the same properties, this is due to their atomic structure which can be more or less organized (crystalline) like rock or even ice. Materials referred to as “amorphous” include materials that do not have an ordered atomic structure, such as plastic.
The internal structure of a material therefore determines the possibility of whether it is conductive or not, ie allows the electric current to pass. Classic alloys and metals such as copper, gold or aluminum are often used in industry for this property. For decades, scientists have managed to create conductive materials from organic materials using a method called “doping,” which makes the materials more flexible but less molecularly stable.
Thanks to these advanced processes, a team of chemists from the University of Chicago has exceptionally succeeded in developing a material thanks to an amorphous (non-crystallized) coordination polymer.. So the chemist Jiaze Xie, a researcher at the University of Chicago, has succeeded produce a material called: nickel tetrathiafulvalentetrathiolate. Behind this barbaric name hides a nickel polymer surrounded by a chain of sulfur and carbon atoms.
Molecular structure of nickel tetrathiafulvalent tetrathiolate
Not only has it created an atomically stable material even in a humid and hot environment (140°C), but it is also strong but also capable of conducting electricity.
The world of electronics is on the verge of a new beginning
This prototyping enables electrical conductivity without using the traditional metal resources used in the world of electronics until now. The molecular structure of this material is more than surprising, however, for Jiaze Xie, who is behind the project. This polymer is obviously not a metallic material, but nevertheless it conducts electricity, is robust and does not deteriorate under the influence of ambient temperature.
From a fundamental point of view, it should not be metal. There is no solid theory to explain this.
The associate professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago and author of this study still fails to understand how this material was formed. For the time being, the researchers cannot promise a massive use of the material for various industries. In fact, various tests should be carried out in the coming months, even years, to know everything about this metal that is not.
In short, this material could be used in place of copper-based alloys or other resources that will be rare in our future.. Not only is the material a perfect conductor of electricity, but it’s also flexible at room temperature, so manufacturers don’t have to heat the material to shape it. Scientists are therefore working on the different application models that this new material could take on, in particular on all the functions that it could perform.
Source : Nature.com,
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