Â鶹ֱ²¥ researchers have uncovered a method of making silicon, found commonly in electronics such as phones, cameras and computers, at room temperature.<\/p>\n
The new technique works by replacing extreme heat with electrical currents to produce the same chemical reaction that turns silica into silicon at a reduced economic and environmental cost.<\/p>\n
Lead researcher, PhD candidate Song Zhang from Curtin\u2019s School of Molecular and Life Sciences said that while the team\u2019s discovery was made at the nanoscale, it defines a way of replacing thermochemical processes with electrochemical processes, which can efficiently convert into clean electricity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSilicon is crucial to technology and tech devices as a semi-conductor in the computer and microelectronic industries, but the process to make it typically involves extreme and expensive measures,\u201d Mr Zhang said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTypically silica, the natural oxide of silicon, is melted at around 1,700 \u00baC to make the oxygen atoms “jiggle” enough so they end up leaving the silica to yield elemental silicon. However our research shows this conversion is possible without <\/em>extreme temperatures.<\/p>\n \u201cWe achieved this by using electrochemical reactions to convert clean electricity directly into chemical energy to strip the oxygen from the silica, which is complex because silica is an electrical insulator and doesn\u2019t carry a current.\u201d<\/p>\n The proof-of-concept experiment was achieved by immersing perfectly cut silicon crystals in a water electrolyte, then deliberately removing electrons to generate a thin layer of silica, before forcing electrons back towards the silica to reform nanoscale islands of silicon.<\/p>\n Research supervisor and co-author Associate Professor Simone Ciampi, also from Curtin\u2019s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said the research is an exciting development.<\/p>\n \u201cThe team has shown that, on a very small scale, it is possible to reversibly convert silica to silicon at room temperature, which has immediate day to day implications for analytical measurements done with silicon electrodes,\u201d Associate Professor Ciampi said.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeday this technique could be used to generate practical amounts of silicon from silica, and undoubtedly this research provides the starting point for further investigations.\u201d<\/p>\n