Researchers discovered a new type of liquid in thin films. It is a new material that forms high-density glass, with the results promising how similar materials could lead to stronger, denser fabrications in the future.
In the new study titled "Glasses Denser Than the Supercooled Liquid," and appearing in the latest Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) report the discovery of the material and its implications.
Glass, as we know it, is usually formed after solidification, which in turn is created when a liquid falls out of equilibrium. This usually happens when a liquid material cools down, and motion stops altogether. Generally, glass is a class of non-crystalline (amorphous) materials that are structurally similar to liquids yet physically closer to solids.
Technological advancements allowed the fabrication of glass into ultrathin films, materials in the nanometer scale, which are currently used in a wide range of applications from OLED displays to fiber optics. Materials used in these applications behave like a liquid under low temperatures. The slightest imperfection or environmental change can create droplets or small areas of crystallization, limiting the smallest units that can be made into thin films.
To work around this limitation, scientists and researchers turned to a process called vapor deposition instead of cooling down liquids to form glass. Vapor deposition, Science Direct explains, is a process that directly turns a gaseous material into a solid, allowing researchers to create glass materials with greater density. It has been used in creating different materials such as fibers, powders, nanotubes, and multilayer coatings.
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