Science for All | Can metals become plastic?

There’s a fundamental divide in the world of metals and plastic. Metals conduct electricity but are

There’s a fundamental divide in the world of metals and plastic. Metals conduct electricity but are rigid. Plastics are poor conductors but are flexible and amenable to different shapes and structures. Now preliminary research suggests that the best of both worlds may be possible. 

Researchers at the University of Chicago strung together nickel atoms like pearls into a string of molecular beads made of carbon and sulphur and found that they easily and strongly conducted electricity. What’s more, it was very stable. Even after heating it, chilling it, exposing it to air and humidity, dripping acid and base on it, it proved resilient. 

Tests, simulations, and theoretical work showed that the material formed layers, like sheets in a lasagna. Even if rotated sideways, no longer forming a neat lasagna stack, electrons could still move horizontally or vertically -- as long as the pieces touched. What characterised this arrangement was that the molecular structure of the material was disordered. It was far from what theory predicted a metal ought to be and a proper theory explaining the material is still elusive. 

The discovery suggests a fundamentally new design principle for electronics technology. One of the material’s attractive characteristics is new options for processing. For example, metals usually have to be melted in order to be made into the right shape for a chip or device, which limits what you can make with them, since other components of the device have to be able to withstand the heat needed to process these materials. The new material, still nameless, has no such restriction because it can be made at room temperatures. It can also be used where the need for a device or pieces of the device to withstand heat, acid or alkalinity, or humidity has previously limited engineers’ options to develop new technology.

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