Abstract Scope |
Nanoporous gold has a high surface area to volume structure that, combined with its material properties, makes it attractive for catalytic, sensing, and capacitance applications. The size of the ligament structure influences the mechanical behavior of nanoporous gold, as an increase in ligament size decreases the strength of the networked structure. Typically, a smaller ligament size is preferred due to the high surface area to volume ratio and enhanced mechanical properties; however, the structure is not thermally stabilized at elevated temperatures. Thin film nanoporous gold films were coarsened in a scanning electron microscope, with in-situ observations during the annealing process. It was found that ligament coarsening kinetics agreed with a surface diffusion mechanism, as expected. However, electron beam imaging was observed to influence the coarsening behavior significantly. These findings will be discussed in relation to electron beam effects on gold ligament surfaces and diffusion. |