Local structure of liquid gallium-iodine and gallium-indium

Liquid metal alloys, with liquidus temperatures close to room temperature, are a rapidly developing research area with novel applications in renewable energy, catalysis, electronics and fluidics.Gallium-based alloys are widely employed due to their wide stability range and chemical inertness. However, their local structure and its connection to macroscopic properties are still scarcely investigated.Both gallium and iodine form dimeres in solid form, which possibly persist in the liquid. This peculiar behaviour and the influence of temperature and composition on the local structure of liquid Ga-I shall be investigated in this proposal. Additionally, a sample of the industrially important Ga-In eutectic will be measured. Analysis of the neutron diffraction data will allow the detailed analysis of the local structure in liquid Ga-I and Ga-In.