Most modern electronic devices owe their existence to silicon (Si), an abundant element whose material properties have enabled technologies such as microprocessors, solar cells, and fiber optic cables.
Such applications, however, require varying degrees of highly purified Si, currently produced by complex, expensive, and environmentally unsound processes.
Researchers describe in the journal Nature Communications a low-cost nanopurification process that yields 99.999% pure Si from ferrosilicon, an inexpensive and widely available silicon–iron alloy.
The process uses a high-energy ball mill to crush ferrosilicon pieces into nanoparticles. Because impurities in the ferrosilicon represent structural weak points, ball milling fractures the alloy at regions with impurities and exposes them to the surface. The impurities are then stripped away with an acid treatment, leaving behind purified Si nanoparticles.
As an example, the authors also demonstrate that Si nanoparticles purified in this manner can be used as anodes in high-performance rechargeable lithium ion batteries.
The findings represent a commercially viable and cost-effective procedure for recovering purified Si from low-quality material, according to the authors.
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/10/15/1513012112
Edited
Latest News
New origin of deep brain waves
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Starving cells hijack prote…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Miniature battery-free epid…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Molecular causes of differe…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Apr
Cell's 'garbage disposal' h…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Apr
Other Top Stories
Better blood sugar control in type I diabetes may limit brain damage
Read more
Sensory nerves regulate fat functions
Read more
Splicing factor loss induces alpha cells to produce insulin
Read more
Insufficient insulin processing leads to overweight
Read more
Front-loading calories early in the day reduces hunger but does not…
Read more
Protocols
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Modular dual-color BiAD sen…
By newseditor
Posted 31 Mar
Publications
The immunobiology of herpes…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Circulating microbiome DNA…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Spindle oscillations in com…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Oligodendroglial macroautop…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
COPII with ALG2 and ESCRTs…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar