Ultrasonic formation of Ga-Hg alloy particles

Ultrasonic irradiation of a mixture of two metals in the liquid state, gallium and mercury, immersed in either water or dodecane, caused dispersion of the metals into small particles. The nature of these particles was examined by several methods: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed spherical shapes of the particles, being in the size-range of several micrometers to tens of nanometers. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) revealed that the particles were composed of both metals, in an atomic ratio of Ga:Hg = 2:1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) yielded a single broad signal, indicating poor or no crystallinity, and thermal analysis showed that these particles were stable. Hence, we concluded that micrometric to sub-micrometric particles of intermetallic Hg-Ga alloy were formed by this novel ultrasonic method.