Scientists Create World's First One-Dimensional Gas
Scientists from the University of Nottingham have successfully trapped individual krypton atoms to create the world's first-ever one-dimensional gas.
Trapping Krypton Atoms
Scientists from the University of Nottingham have achieved a major breakthrough in the field of chemistry. They have successfully trapped individual krypton atoms to create the world's first-ever one-dimensional gas. The atoms of Krypton (Kr), a noble gas, were trapped inside a carbon nanotube using an advanced version of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This achievement has opened up new possibilities for understanding the behavior of atoms at the atomic scale.
Professor Paul Brown, director of the Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre (nmRC), University of Nottingham, stated that this is the first time that chains of noble gas atoms have been imaged directly, leading to the creation of a one-dimensional gas in a solid material. This breakthrough has the potential to provide valuable insights into the properties of matter.
Overcoming Previous Barriers
Traditional spectroscopy methods could only track the movements of larger groups of atoms, making it challenging to understand the behavior of individual atoms. The size and speed of atoms posed significant barriers to direct imaging. Individual atoms can range from 0.1 to 0.4 nanometers in size and can move at speeds of up to 400 meters per second. These factors make it difficult to capture atomic movements in real-time.
To overcome these barriers, the Nottingham team utilized carbon nanotubes, which are two-dimensional structures with a diameter half a million times smaller than a human hair. Carbon nanotubes enable the accurate positioning and study of atoms at the single-atom level in real-time. By trapping noble gas krypton atoms inside the carbon nanotubes, the team was able to break the previously unbreakable barrier and directly image the one-dimensional gas.
Using Buckminster Fullerenes
In their groundbreaking research published in the journal ACS Nano, the team elaborated on their method of transporting individual krypton atoms into the carbon nanotubes. They utilized Buckminster fullerenes, novel structures that can transport the atoms. The krypton atoms were either heated to 1200oC or irradiated with an electron beam to free them from their carrier molecules.
The narrow space within the nanotube channel confines the movement of the krypton atoms to one dimension. As a result, the atoms cannot pass each other and are forced to slow down. This allowed the team to employ scanning TEM imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy to reveal the chemical signature of each individual atom in the one-dimensional gas. The combination of these techniques provided a spectral map of the gas, confirming that the atoms are delocalized and fill all available space.
Unlocking the Secrets of Unusual States of Matter
Moving forward, the team plans to use electron microscopy to directly image temperature-controlled phase transitions and chemical reactions in these one-dimensional gas systems. This could provide valuable insights into the unusual states of matter that arise in these systems. Heat conductance and diffusion properties in strongly correlated atomic systems, for example, have the potential to exhibit highly unusual behavior.
The ability to see the van der Waals distance between two atoms in real space is a significant development in the field of chemistry and physics. It can help scientists better understand the workings of atoms and molecules. The team's achievement opens up new possibilities for further research in the field of atomic behavior and could have wide-ranging effects on our understanding of matter at the atomic scale.
