Platinum, copper and nickel alloys may be the key to intelligent biomedical equipment
Release time：2020-08-18Click：1508
Foreign media reported that researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne, Switzerland, used an amorphous metal alloy composed of platinum, copper, nickel and phosphorus to make plastic fiber electrodes.
The idea behind their work is that these electrodes are integrated into biomedical devices, such as chronic implants and electronic devices.
"Our metallic glass is part of a new metal with an amorphous structure," in è s Richard, one of the scientists involved in the project, said in a media statement. When an alloy is heated to a certain temperature, it first becomes viscous and then becomes crystalline and solid.
Richard explained that when the alloy is in a viscous state, it can be stretched into nano sized, uniform shapes that extend to the length of the fiber. This is a step forward from the usual crystalline metals, which stretch in liquid and break into droplets if their diameter is too small.
But the pt-cu-ni-p alloy enabled Ecole's team to produce conductive fibers that are only 40 nanometers thick, 50 times smaller than standard electrode fibers.
To see what the fiber could do more than transmit electricity, the scientists added liquid selenium to the production process, which is viscous and does not mix with the alloy. Because selenium can detect light, it creates a new interface and enhances the performance and sensitivity of optical fibers.
Working with other researchers, Richard and her colleagues came up with a way to integrate electrodes into a chronic implant. They then tested the fibers in mice, sending electrical pulses directly into the brains of mice to move them, confirming the potential use of the material in medicine.
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