The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.

Monday, 2nd March 2009 (1490 views)

Gold particles can be used to develop thin coatings for LCD and plasma screens, new research has suggested.

Scientists at the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences in Singapore have found that gold nanoparticles packed with latex microspheres can be combined at low heat to create a network of connected nanoparticles made of the precious metal, New Scientist reports.

In turn, these can then be used to provide a coating for television and computer monitors, possibly replacing the use of indium tin oxide, which is expensive and requires clean rooms in order to be manufactured.

"Our gold network is finer than spider's silk and is also conductive," researcher Ivan Vakarelski told the news source, adding that although whole coatings of only a few square centimetres have been produced so far, the process should be easy to replicate on a larger scale.

Wires of the precious metal are also being used in research to create simple structures using nanotechnology as part of a technique known as "nano origami", Nanowerk News reports.

 

« Back to Gold News stories