(381b) Understanding the Mechanical Properties of Nanoporous Au

Recent mechanical studies on nanoporous gold (np-Au) have revealed that the yield strength of this material is almost one order of magnitude higher than predicted by scaling laws developed for open-cell foams. The higher-than-expected yield strength seems to be linked to the nanoscale morphology of np-Au which can be described as an open sponge-like network of interconnecting ligaments on the nanometer length scale. However, even though np-Au is a prototype nanoporous metal, the mechanical properties are not well understood yet. Here, we compare experimental results with molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the nature of the high yield strength of nanoporous gold.

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract of No.W-7405-Eng-48.