New ultra-lightweight 18K gold made from ordinary plastic

Researchers at ETH Zurich said the new ultra-light 18K (carat) gold has the same physical properties as plastic but retains the metallic bright surface of gold, as well as the ability to manipulate the page. strength.

While alchemists who have been trying for hundreds of years to turn other metals into gold are still unsuccessful, according to a recent announcement, researchers at ETH Zurich, a long-standing and well-established university of science and technology university Swiss language) succeeded in using plastic to create a super light gold that still retains the same level of purity as 18K gold.

Normally, 18K gold will be mixed with another metal (usually copper) with the ratio of 75% gold and 25% copper. But the new gold will be mixed with a polymer plastic and protein fiber.

It looks like a normal gold - (Image source from ETH Zurich).

Nanoscale gold crystals in the form of thin disks are embedded in the aforementioned plastic matrix, creating invisible bubbles of air inside, which make the mixture lighter. Although still 18K gold, the gold density in this mixture is only 1.7g / cm ³ instead of 15g / cm ³ as usual. This also makes the new type of gold only 1 / 10th the weight of regular 18K gold.

The new ultra-light gold has the same physical properties as the plastic, but retains the metallic shiny surface of gold, as well as being able to be made into jewelry (polished like gold). normal).

To create the super-light gold, the researchers mixed tiny gold dust with a mixture of polymer, protein fibers, water and salt, creating a gel mixture. The water is then replaced by alcohol and the mixture is placed in a pressure chamber filled with CO ₂ , turning the yellow plastic into a lightweight foam gel. Finally, this gold is heated to melt and shape it to the desired shape.

Not only lighter, this new type of plastic gold has a host of other advantages over conventional gold. Properties such as hardness can be easily refined by changing the composition of the mixture from scratch. Even the color of the newly created material can change with different colors by swapping nanoparticles of different shapes, for example the spheres will produce purple.

Moreover, this type of gold is also easy to melt at 105 ^o C, which is much lower than the normal melting point of gold of 1,064 ^o C.

Although these advantages are well suited for the use of new gold for jewelry, there is fear that the public will not accept a plastic gold, as it used to be unpopular with artificial diamonds. it was born.

Besides, according to the research team from ETH Zurich, there are still many other useful applications that require this ultra-light 18K gold, such as electronics manufacturing, chemical catalysts and even radiation shields. .

Imagine someday your watches or bracelets will become lighter, no longer make you uncomfortable wearing them for a long time, but never lose their glamor or make them. the wearer feels less "chảnh" a bit.

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