世界上最薄的黃金，只有兩個原子那么厚

科學(xué)家創(chuàng)造了世界上最薄的黃金，只有兩個原子那么厚

Gold that’s just two atoms thick has been created in a lab by British scientists.

英國科學(xué)家在實驗室里創(chuàng)造了只有兩個原子厚度的黃金。

The “world’s thinnest gold” is one million times thinner than a fingernail – and is so thin, it’s technically regarded as “two dimensional.”

“世界上最薄的黃金”比指甲薄一百萬倍，而且非常薄，技術(shù)上被認(rèn)為是“二維的”。

The official measurement is 0.47 nanometres, made possible because the gold is made up of just two atoms sitting on top of each other.

官方的測量結(jié)果是0.47納米，這是有可能的，因為黃金是由兩個原子相互疊加而成的。

This revolutionary material could be used to create new technology and speed up industrial processes, according to its creators at the University of Leeds.

利茲大學(xué)的發(fā)明者表示，這種革命性的材料可以用來創(chuàng)造新技術(shù)，加快工業(yè)進(jìn)程。

“Gold nanoparticles are used to speed up chemical reactions,” researcher Dr. Sunjie Ye told The Sun.

“金納米粒子被用來加速化學(xué)反應(yīng)，”研究員葉孫杰博士告訴《太陽報》。

“This ultra-thin gold could be used in new medical devices that test for the early signs of disease or illness. It could also have uses in transforming industrial waste into chemicals that can be reused and in water purification.”

“這種超薄黃金可以用于新的醫(yī)療設(shè)備，用于檢測疾病的早期跡象。它還可以將工業(yè)廢料轉(zhuǎn)化為可重復(fù)使用的化學(xué)物質(zhì)，并用于水的凈化。”

Genius researchers revealed how they produced the wonder material in the Advanced Sciences journal.

天才研究人員在《高等科學(xué)》雜志上公布了他們是如何制作這種神奇材料的。

The gold “nanosheet” is created inside a watery solution.

黃金“納米片”是在水狀溶液中形成的。

They begin with chloroauric acid, which is an inorganic substance that already contains gold.

首先是氯金酸，這是一種已經(jīng)含有黃金的無機(jī)物。

This is then reduced to its metallic form in the presence of a “confinement agent.”

然后在“約束劑”的存在下將其還原為金屬形式。

That’s a term used to describe a chemical that encourages the gold to form as a sheet – just two atoms thick.

這是一個術(shù)語，用來描述一種促使黃金形成薄片的化學(xué)物質(zhì)——只有兩個原子那么厚。

Because of the gold’s tiny dimensions, it actually appears green in water.

因為黃金的尺寸很小，所以它在水中看起來是綠色的。

And thanks to its strange shape, researchers describe it as “gold nanoseaweed.”

由于其形狀奇特，研究人員稱其為“金納米草”。

Enlarge ImageUsing an electron microscope, researchers were able to capture images of how the gold atoms formed into a highly organized lattice.

使用電子顯微鏡，研究人員能夠捕捉到金原子如何形成高度有序晶格的圖像。

Its small size means that it’s as many as 10 times more efficient as a catalyst than currently-used gold nanoparticles.

它的小尺寸意味著它作為催化劑的效率是目前使用的金納米顆粒的10倍。

“Gold is a highly effective catalyst,” said Stephen Evans, of the University of Leeds.

利茲大學(xué)的斯蒂芬·埃文斯說：“黃金是一種非常有效的催化劑。”

“Because the nanosheets are so thin, just about every gold atom plays a part in the catalysis. It means the process is highly efficient.”

“由于納米薄片非常薄，幾乎每個金原子都參與了催化。這意味著這個過程非常高效。”

And Ye described the creation as a “landmark achievement.”

葉孫杰博士將這一創(chuàng)造描述為“里程碑式的成就”。

He added: “Not only does it open up the possibility that gold can be used more efficiently in existing technologies, it is providing a route that would allow material scientists to develop other 2D metals.”

他補(bǔ)充稱:“這不僅開啟了在現(xiàn)有技術(shù)中更有效利用黃金的可能性，還為材料科學(xué)家開發(fā)其他2D金屬提供了一條途徑。”

“This method could innovate nanomaterial manufacturing.”

“這種方法可以創(chuàng)新納米材料制造。”