Overview
- University of Sydney researchers report the work in Nature Communications, using tomography to peer inside dense liquid metals.
- Platinum beads were dissolved in gallium or gallium–indium at about 500°C, then cooled to trigger crystallization within the alloy.
- X-ray computed tomography produced 3D reconstructions showing rod-like and frost-like structures developing over minutes to hours.
- The team assembled an electrode from the liquid‑metal‑grown crystals that efficiently generated hydrogen from water.
- Current images are low resolution, and the researchers expect advances in tomography to deepen insights and guide applications in hydrogen technologies and quantum materials.