Researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Germany have demonstrated for the first time the phenomena of shape memory and self-healing in gold microparticles. Achieved through defects-mediated diffusion in the particle, the discovery could one day lead to development of micro- and nano-robots capable of self-repair; mechanically stable and damage-tolerant components and devices; and targeted drug delivery.

The study, published in the journal Advanced Science, was conducted by doctoral student Oleg Kovalenko and Dr. Leonid Klinger, led by Prof. Eugen Rabkin of the Technion Department of Materials Science and Engineering, together with Dr. Christian Brandl of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

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