{"id":1288,"date":"2026-08-16T16:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T07:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/briefing\/2026-08-16-gold-surface-reconstruction-oxidation-en\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T16:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T07:45:00","slug":"2026-08-16-gold-surface-reconstruction-oxidation-en","status":"publish","type":"briefing","link":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/briefing\/2026-08-16-gold-surface-reconstruction-oxidation-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Why doesn’t gold rust? The surface atoms have locked themselves."},"content":{"rendered":"

2026-08-16 16:45 KST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research has shown that the reason why gold does not discolor easily in air is because the surface atoms are closely rearranged.<\/p>\n

This does not mean that gold never reacts, but is a result of comparing representative crystal surfaces and oxygen reactions using quantum mechanical calculations.<\/p>\n

What’s New?<\/h2>\n

Gold was originally known as a precious metal that reacts weakly with oxygen. The researchers calculated that on two common gold surfaces, the top-layer atoms move from an open square arrangement to a tighter hexagonal arrangement.<\/p>\n

Why does rearrangement prevent oxidation?<\/h2>\n

Metal oxidation begins when an oxygen molecule attaches to the surface and splits into two atoms. On a denser gold surface, there are fewer suitable places for oxygen to split. It takes a lot of energy to return it to its original configuration, greatly slowing down the reaction.<\/p>\n

\"Why
This is a generated image created to illustrate a topic and is not a photo of an actual scene or observation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

what a difference<\/h2>\n

Calculations showed that surface reorganization could slow oxygen decomposition by a factor of 1 billion to 1 trillion. This is the difference in reaction rate assuming a specific temperature and ideal surface. The same number does not apply to all gold alloys and contaminated actual jewelry.<\/p>\n

Can gold tarnish too?<\/h2>\n

Pure gold is very stable, but jewelry may contain metals such as copper or silver. Sweat, cosmetics and sulfur compounds can react with alloying elements or surface contaminants. So tarnished gold jewelry doesn’t mean it’s fake.<\/p>\n

Why is materials research important?<\/h2>\n

Intentionally making the gold surface less dense has the potential to enhance catalytic reactions utilizing oxygen. Conversely, creating similar protective arrangements in other metals can provide design guidance to reduce corrosion. Real-world application of the material requires further experimental verification.<\/p>\n

official source material<\/h2>\n

Physical Review Letters original paper<\/a><\/p>\n

Nature research highlight<\/a><\/p>\n

Science News independent explanation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The computational study demonstrated that gold surface atoms rearrange themselves into tight hexagonal arrangements, leaving oxygen molecules free of space to split and initiate reactions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"class_list":["post-1288","briefing","type-briefing","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/briefing\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/briefing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/briefing"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}