Our country's scientists have presented for the first time the dynamic process of nano-scale gold formation.

Reporters learned from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences that recently, a research team at the institute used in situ liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy technology to present for the first time the dynamic process of gold nanoparticles forming on the surface of pyrite at the nanoscale in nature, and proposed a new mechanism for pyrite-induced gold precipitation. The study found that there is a special "dense liquid layer" at the interface between pyrite and water, acting as a "nano factory" that can effectively catalyze the nucleation, growth, and enrichment of gold even in fluids with very low gold concentrations, providing a new perspective for understanding the origin of gold minerals. The related findings were published in the international academic journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on January 20th.