Room-temperature deintercalation and self-extrusion of Ga from Cr2GaN
Bulk samples of the layered ternary nitride Cr2GaN were observed to extrude filaments of pure elemental gallium at room temperature. This self-extrusion phenomenon is best described as a room-temperature deintercalation of gallium from the basal planes of porous Cr2GaN samples. The extruded filaments are single crystals with 2- to 100-micrometer diameters and can be several centimeters long.