Nanoscale structural evolution of gallium-copper, gallium-zinc, and gallium-bismuth alloys

HYPOTHESIS: Liquid metals (LMs) and alloys such as GaCu, GaZn, and GaBi may possess previously unresolved nanoscale structures that govern their physicochemical behaviour. We hypothesise that such structuring is alloy-dependent and thermally sensitive, arising from differences in material properties, growth kinetics, and thermodynamic behaviours, and that the presence of nanoscale structures can be detected and resolved using in-situ neutron scattering, supported by atomistic simulations. EXPERIMENTS: at 30, 60, and 90 °C on GaCu, GaZn, and GaBi alloys at 1, 2, and 5 wt%. Complementary Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were utilised to interpret structural evolution at the atomic scale. FINDINGS: The investigation demonstrates the presence of nanostructures in 1, 2 and 5 wt% GaCu alloys in the measured SANS range at 30 °C. Interestingly, these structures do not persist at elevated temperatures of 60 and 90 °C, indicating thermally driven homogenisation. In contrast, GaZn and GaBi alloys at similar concentrations do not exhibit any nanostructures, irrespective of the measured temperatures, highlighting alloy-specific structuring behaviour. These results provide new insight into nanoscale organisation within LMs and inform rational design for catalysis, electronics, and additive manufacturing applications.