Japanese researchers create palladium-like alloy using nanotechnology, ‘present-day alchemy’

As you’re no doubt aware, some of the precious metals used in consumer electronics — like palladium — can be both pricey and hard to come by, which has prompted some to harvest the materials from old electronics and reuse them , while others have been busily working on more readily available alternatives. Among that latter group are a team of researchers from Japan’s Kyoto University, who have just announced that they’ve managed to create a palladium-like alloy using what’s being described as “present-day alchemy.” More specifically, they used nanotechnology to combine (and “nebulise”) rhodium and silver, which don’t ordinarily mix, into the new composite, which they say could eventually replace the real thing in a whole range of electronics and other products. Unfortunately, it’s not clear when that might happen, but the researchers aren’t just stopping at palladium — they’re apparently already looking at using a similar process to create other alloys. [Image credit: Jurii / Wikimedia Commons ] Japanese researchers create palladium-like alloy using nanotechnology, ‘present-day alchemy’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Jan 2011 07:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Posted by on January 2, 2011. Filed under News, Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry