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Mechanical properties of Al2O3-functionalized nanoporous gold foams under irradiation

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Abstract

Nanoporous gold (np-Au) has unique properties due to its high surface-to-volume ratio; in particular, it displays different degrees of radiation sensitivity, from radiation tolerance to significant radiation-induced hardening. However, its thermal instability and propensity to coarsening limit practical applications. It is known that oxide functionalization of np-Au surface improves thermal stability and increases both hardness and elastic modulus of the metallic foam. Nevertheless, the changes in the material properties under irradiation have not been investigated yet. In this work, we address the questions of radiation sensitivity of atomic layer deposition (ALD)-coated np-Au, and how its mechanical properties change after irradiation. ALD Al2O3-coated gold nanofoams were synthetized and irradiated with Ne++ ions and their mechanical behavior was evaluated by nanoindentation. It is concluded that the as-prepared functionalized np-Au hardens and stiffens after ion irradiation depending on the dose, without losing toughness and wear resistance.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

Work funded by the Los Alamos Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program. A.C. also acknowledges support from the DOE Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) for Materials under Irradiation and Mechanical Extremes. M.C. greatly acknowledges the team working with Y.Q. Wang at the LANL Ion Beam Materials Laboratory (IBML). Work performed in part at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science by Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories. C.J.R acknowledges support from ANPCyT PICT-2018-0773 and a SiiP-UNCuyo grant. D.F.L, J.I.R and M.C.F acknowledge support from ANPCyT (PICT 2015-0351 and 2017-1133). Silvia Adriana Dominguez (CAC-CNEA) and Claudia Marchi (CMA-UBA) are acknowledged for taking auxiliary SEM images of the samples. Nahuel Vega is acknowledged for helpful comments and discussion of the results.

Funding

Work funded by the Los Alamos Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program, ANPCyT PICT-2018-0773, PICT 2015-0351 and 2017-1133.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gerencia Química & Instituto de Nanociencia y Nanotecnología, Centro Atómico Constituyentes, CNEA-CONICET, Buenos Aires (B1650KNA), Argentina

    D. F. Lionello, J. I. Ramallo & M. C. Fuertes

  2. Instituto Sabato, Centro Atómico Constituyentes, CNEA-UNSAM, Buenos Aires (B1650KNA), Argentina

    J. I. Ramallo

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Falls Church, VA, 22043, USA

    M. Caro

  4. Materials Science and Technology Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA

    Y. Q. Wang

  5. Center for Integrated Nanotechnology, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, USA

    C. Sheehan & J. K. Baldwin

  6. Center for Integrated Nanotechnology, Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM, 87185, USA

    J. Nogan

  7. College of Professional Studies, George Washington University, Ashburn, VA, 20147, USA

    A. Caro

  8. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Instituto Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, CONICET, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina

    C. J. Ruestes

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  1. D. F. Lionello
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  2. J. I. Ramallo
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  8. A. Caro
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  9. M. C. Fuertes
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Correspondence to M. C. Fuertes or C. J. Ruestes.

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Lionello, D.F., Ramallo, J.I., Caro, M. et al. Mechanical properties of Al2O3-functionalized nanoporous gold foams under irradiation. Journal of Materials Research 36, 2001–2009 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-021-00262-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-021-00262-x

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