Gallium for Science

Gallium is a soft, silvery post-transition metal, atomic number 31, with a melting point of 29.76°C and a boiling point of 2204°C — one of the widest liquid ranges of any element. That combination, along with its low vapour pressure and its willingness to alloy at room temperature, makes it genuinely useful in a laboratory rather than merely interesting.

We supply gallium and gallium alloys to Australian universities, research institutes and school laboratories from stock held in Perth.

Laboratory and research uses

Temperature calibration

Gallium's melting point is a defining fixed point on the International Temperature Scale (ITS-90), at 302.9146 K. That makes high-purity gallium a primary reference for calibrating precision thermometry near ambient temperature. It is one of the few applications where the purity grade genuinely matters — our material is 99.99% (4N), and certificates of analysis are available on request.

Liquid metal thermal management

Gallium and its eutectic alloys conduct heat far better than any organic thermal interface material, and they stay liquid across the temperature range electronics actually operate in. This is an active research area in high-density cooling. Our GaInSn eutectic is liquid down to around −19°C, where pure gallium needs warming to melt.

Soft robotics and stretchable conductors

A conductor that is liquid at room temperature can be stretched, folded and self-heal after being severed. Gallium-based alloys are the standard material for stretchable circuitry, liquid-metal antennas and soft actuators. GaInSn is usually preferred over pure gallium because it needs no thermal management to stay fluid.

A non-toxic replacement for mercury

This is the practical one for Australian laboratories and schools. Mercury has been progressively removed from teaching and much routine laboratory use, and gallium alloys fill several of the same roles — manometers, thermometers, electrical contacts, density demonstrations — without the toxicity, the handling regime or the disposal problem.

Alloying and materials research

Gallium forms low-melting alloys with indium, tin, zinc and bismuth, and its interaction with aluminium is itself a subject of study: gallium diffuses along aluminium grain boundaries and destroys the metal's cohesion. That effect is a standard demonstration of grain-boundary embrittlement and liquid metal embrittlement, and it is also the reason gallium must be kept well away from aluminium equipment.

Amorphous and undercooled metals

Gallium supercools readily — it can remain liquid well below its melting point — which makes it a convenient system for studying nucleation, undercooling and solidification behaviour without specialised furnace equipment.

Teaching demonstrations

Gallium is unusually good value as a teaching material because a single sample lasts indefinitely. It supports:

  • States of matter and phase change — a solid that melts in the hand, at a temperature students can feel
  • Physical versus chemical change — melting and resolidifying changes nothing about the substance
  • Density — 5.91 g/cm³, six times water, and visibly heavier than students expect
  • Expansion on freezing — one of the few elements that shares this behaviour with water
  • Grain-boundary embrittlement — the aluminium can demonstration

See gallium for education for curriculum notes, or for schools and universities for documentation, quotes and purchase orders.

Specifications

  • Purity: 99.99% (4N)
  • Melting point: 29.76°C
  • Boiling point: 2204°C
  • Density: 5.91 g/cm³ (solid), 6.095 g/cm³ (liquid at melting point)
  • Available in: 20g, 100g, 250g and 1kg

Documentation

A Safety Data Sheet in Australian 16-section format is supplied with every order, naming Gallium Sales as supplier — the document your institution needs before a chemical enters a laboratory or prep room. Certificates of analysis with lot number and assay are available on request for institutional buyers.

Handling

Gallium is non-toxic and safe to handle with normal care. The material hazard is to aluminium, not to people: gallium permanently embrittles aluminium and the damage is irreversible, so keep it away from aluminium equipment, fixtures and tooling. Store it sealed and below 29°C where practical. Wash hands after handling.

Browse gallium metal, liquid metal alloys or element samples. We dispatch from Perth within 1–3 business days and ship within Australia.