Repetitive Deformation of Ga-Based Liquid Metal in Acidified CuCl2 or FeCl3 Solution
Journal article
Wang, B., Zhang, Y., Wang, S., Jiang, X, Liu, L. and Zhao, D. Repetitive Deformation of Ga-Based Liquid Metal in Acidified CuCl2 or FeCl3 Solution. Journal of Chemical Education.
Authors | Wang, B., Zhang, Y., Wang, S., Jiang, X, Liu, L. and Zhao, D. |
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Abstract | In chemical education, repetitive and large-scale motion of material in a chemical reaction could effectively capture students’ attention and stimulate their interests to further explore the underlying science. Gallium-based liquid metal is more safe and suitable for some classroom demonstrations than mercury to introduce chemical principles. In this paper, we describe a visually striking experiment using Ga-based liquid metal. Repetitive and large-scale deformation of liquid metal was observed in acidified solution of either copper(II) chloride or ferric(Ⅲ) chloride. To elucidate the mechanism of the deformation, the chemical reaction and the interfacial tension are discussed. The deformation can be attributed to spatial and temporal imbalance of the interfacial tension on the liquid metal induced by the chemical reactions. The simple setups and readily available chemicals enable this experiment to be a suitable and safe classroom demonstration. |
Keywords | First-Year Undergraduate/General, Interfacial/Surface Tension, Redox Reaction, Deformation, Ga-Based Liquid Metal, Demonstration |
Journal | Journal of Chemical Education |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 31 Jul 2024 |
Deposited | 05 Aug 2024 |
https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/item/97x37
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