Radiation induced effects on mechanical properties of nanoporous gold foams

Journal Article · Tue Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4882275· OSTI ID:1369970

Caro, M. ^[1]; Mook, W. M. ^[1]; Fu, E. G. ^[2]; Wang, Y. Q. ^[1]; Sheehan, C. ^[1]; Martinez, E. ^[1]; Baldwin, J. K. ^[1]; Caro, A. ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Peking Univ., Beijing (China)

Previously, it was demonstrated that due to a high surface-to-volume ratio, nanoporous materials display radiation tolerance. The abundance of surfaces, which are perfect sinks for defects, and the relation between ligament size, defect diffusion, and time combine to define a window of radiation resistance [Fu et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 191607 (2012)]. Outside this window, the dominant defect created by irradiation in Au nanofoams are stacking fault tetrahedra (SFT). Molecular dynamics computer simulations of nanopillars, taken as the elemental constituent of foams, predict that SFTs act as dislocation sources inducing softening, in contrast to the usual behavior in bulk materials, where defects are obstacles to dislocation motion, producing hardening. In this work we test that prediction and answer the question whether irradiation actually hardens or softens a nanofam. Ne ion irradiations of gold nanofoams were performed at room temperature for a total dose up to 4 dpa, and their mechanical behavior was measured by nanoindentation. We observe that hardness increases after irradiation, a result that we analyze in terms of the role of SFTs on the deformation mode of foams.

• Research Organization: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Materials at Irradiation and Mechanical Extremes (CMIME)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: 2008LANL1026
• OSTI ID: 1369970
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 104, Issue 23; Related Information: CMIME partners with Los Alamos National Laboratory (lead); Carnegie Mellon University; University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Nebraska; ISSN 0003-6951
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics (AIP)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE