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Tuesday, 4th March 2008 (6105 views)

Gold nanoclusters can be made magnetic, according to new research.

Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered that oxygenating gold nanowires can make gold magnetic on the nanoscale.

The finding is just one of a number of new discoveries made at the institute regarding the properties of the precious metal on the nanoscale.

Physicists from Georgia found that the application of an electrical field on a surface supported gold nanocluster results in its three-dimensional structure being changed to a planar flat structure.

And while oxygenated gold nanowires act as conducting metals up to a certain length, beyond this they behave as insulators, the research found.

"Finding materials that have magnetic properties when their bulk form doesn't have those properties is very interesting from a fundamental point of view and may have certain future technological applications," said Uzi Landman, Regents' and Institute Professor, holder of the FE Callaway Chair and director of the Centre for Computational Materials Science.

Based in the US city of Atlanta, the Georgia Institute of Technology asserts that it is committed to improving the human condition through scientific and technological advancement.

 

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