A new 18 karat light gold, composed of gold single crystals, amyloids, and a polymer latex matrix is developed. It is similar to a glassy plastic, yet lighter than aluminum and of use in watches, jewelry, radiation shielding, catalysis, and electronics. The material is prepared via a hydrogel precursor dried into an aerogel. Annealing of the polystyrene matrix under vacuum gives rise to a homogeneous template. The final apparent density and porosity of the material depend directly on the volumetric concentration of the starting solution used for hydrogel formation. After annealing, a homogeneous microstructure is obtained in which the shining gold single crystal platelets are evenly embedded in a polystyrene matrix. The material has a glass transition temperature of ≈105 °C which allows for annealing and molding above this temperature. A general scaling behavior is found for the Young's modulus of the material with the density. The Young's modulus of the material with a density of 1.7 g cm⁻³ is ≈50 MPa. The density and stiffness, as well as the color, of the material can be tuned depending on the final application.

中文翻译：

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浅金：使用乳胶模板的胶体方法

开发了一种新的18克拉浅金，由金单晶，淀粉样蛋白和聚合物乳胶基质组成。它类似于玻璃状塑料，但比铝轻，可用于手表，珠宝，辐射屏蔽，催化和电子产品。该材料通过干燥成气凝胶的水凝胶前体来制备。聚苯乙烯基质在真空下的退火产生均匀的模板。材料的最终表观密度和孔隙率直接取决于用于水凝胶形成的起始溶液的体积浓度。退火后，获得了均匀的微观结构，其中，闪闪发光的金单晶片均匀地嵌入聚苯乙烯基质中。该材料的玻璃化转变温度约为105°C，可以在该温度以上进行退火和成型。对于具有密度的材料的杨氏模量，发现了一般的缩放行为。密度为1.7 g cm的材料的杨氏模量^-3为≈50MPa。可以根据最终应用来调整材料的密度和刚度以及颜色。