Micro-sized, liquid-metal particles for heat-free soldering

Discussion in 'Architecture & Engineering' started by Plazma Inferno!, Apr 27, 2016.

  1. Plazma Inferno! Ding Ding Ding Ding Administrator

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    One of the latest innovations from Martin Thuo and his research group is finding a way to make micro-scale, liquid-metal particles that can be used for heat-free soldering plus the fabricating, repairing and processing of metals – all at room temperature.
    The project started as a search for a way to stop liquid metal from returning to a solid – even below the metal’s melting point. That’s something called undercooling and it has been widely studied for insights into metal structure and metal processing. But it had been a challenge to produce large and stable quantities of undercooled metals.
    Thuo’s research team thought if tiny droplets of liquid metal could be covered with a thin, uniform coating, they could form stable particles of undercooled liquid metal. The engineers experimented with a new technique that uses a high-speed rotary tool to sheer liquid metal into droplets within an acidic liquid.
    And then nature lends a hand: The particles are exposed to oxygen and then an oxidation layer is allowed to cover the particles, essentially creating a capsule containing the liquid metal. That layer is then polished until it is thin and smooth.

    http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2016/04/25/liquidmetal

    Paper: http://www.nature.com/articles/srep21864
     
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  3. Walter L. Wagner Cosmic Truth Seeker Valued Senior Member

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    So, if you use a brush and paint it on a pipe joint, then slide on the other pipe, can you get it to become a solder by using ultrasound to release the liquid from its protective coating? the article is lean on how the coated droplet is applied. maybe just a slight tap of a hammer?
     
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