Electrical fields change gold nanoclusters

Atlanta -- U.S. physicists have found applying an electrical field to a surface-supported gold nanocluster changes it from three-dimensional to a 2-D flat structure.

And in another study concerning gold on the nanoscale, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers relate their discovery that nanosized gold can be made magnetic through oxygenation of gold nanowires to the finding that up to a certain length, oxygenated gold nanowires behave as a conducting metal, but beyond that, they become insulators.

The research, the scientists said, marks the first time such a metal-to-insulation transition has been found on the nanoscale.

The scientists said both findings are important predictions that could some day be implemented as control parameters governing the chemical and physical material properties employed in nanotechnology.

The studies appeared in the Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 issues of the journal Physical Review Letters.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.