We have investigated the mechanical stability of nanoporous gold (npg) in an electrochemical environment, using in situ dilatometry and compression experiments. It is demonstrated that the gold nano-ligaments creep under the action of surface stress which leads to spontaneous volume contractions in macroscopic npg samples. The creep of npg, under or without external forces, can be controlled electrochemically. The creep rate increases with increasing potential in double-layer potential region, and deceases to almost zero when the gold surface is adsorbed with oxygen. Surprisingly, we also noticed a correlation between creep and surface diffusivity, which links the deformation of nanocrystals to mobility of surface atoms.
Paraffin-based actuators can deliver large actuation strokes and high actuation stress, but often suffer from a low response rate and leaking problems. Here, we report a new paraffin/metal hybrid actuator, which was fabricated by infiltrating nanoporous gold with paraffin. It exhibits a fast actuation rate owing to the high thermal conductivity of the inter-connected metal phase, and requires no external sealing because liquid paraffin can be well confined in nanoscale channels, due to the large capillarity. We found that in this hybrid actuator, the stress generated by actuation is negligibly small when the characteristic size of the nanoporous gold (L) is above ∼70 nm, and increases dramatically with a decreasing size when L < ∼70 nm. The large actuation stress in samples with L < ∼70 nm is ascribed to a 'smaller is stronger' effect in paraffin wax-the paraffin in smaller pores can sustain larger tensile stress, and thus the contraction of paraffin during cooling can be translated into larger compression stress and strain energy in a metal framework, leading to a larger actuation stress and energy. We also demonstrate that complex actuation motions can be achieved by incorporating hierarchical-structured nanoporous metal with paraffin.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.