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Sep 10, 2023

Gold flakes glow when they are bathed in light and now we know how

Shooting powerful lasers at thin gold flakes has revealed how the precious metal generates its own faint glow – and might help us better control chemical reactions used in energy storage By Karmela

Shooting powerful lasers at thin gold flakes has revealed how the precious metal generates its own faint glow – and might help us better control chemical reactions used in energy storage

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

2 August 2023

Gold glistens, but thin gold wafers can generate their own glow

Shutterstock/Tatiana Ivleva

Wafer-thin gold flakes emit a faint glimmer after being hit with a laser, and researchers are starting to understand why. Gold flakes are widely used in nanoscience, so the new knowledge should give scientists more control over chemical reactions useful for energy storage and catalysis.

Gold owes its dazzling lustre to the way it reflects light. But ultra-thin gold flakes can also generate and emit their own light in a process called photoluminescence. This begins when the gold is …

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