Heavily enriched: An energy-efficient way of enriching hydrogen isotopes in silicon

Deuterium, a heavier but less abundant version of the hydrogen atom, has many practical applications. Unfortunately, producing deuterium and using it to protect silicon-based semiconductors requires a lot of energy and very expensive deuterium gas. Now, scientists have discovered an energy-efficient exchange reaction to swap hydrogen atoms for deuterium on the surface of nanocrystalline silicon. Their results pave the way to more durable electronic devices while keeping costs and the environmental impact low.