Thanks to a nanothermodynamic model, researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio led by Miguel José-Yacaman have succeeded in predicting the phase diagram of nanoscale “Tumbaga” – a gold-copper alloy that was very popular in pre-Columbian times – and have thus discovered why it looks so much like pure gold. Although still used in jewellery, nowadays the alloy is more likely to be found in a number of industrially important catalysts. The new model, the results of which have been confirmed with transmission electron microscope observations, could help improve these catalysts and make them more efficient…..
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/59055
