Letter abstract
Nature Materials 7, 120 - 124 (2007)
Published online: 16 December 2007 | doi:10.1038/nmat2083
Subject Categories: Metals and alloys | Mechanical properties | Nanoscale materials
Effects of elastic anisotropy on strain distributions in decahedral gold nanoparticles
Craig L. Johnson1, Etienne Snoeck1, Manex Ezcurdia1, Benito Rodríguez-González2, Isabel Pastoriza-Santos2, Luis M. Liz-Marzán2 & Martin J. Hÿtch1
Metallic nanoparticles exhibit exceptional optoelectronic properties with applications in plasmonics, biosensing and nanomedicine1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Recently, new synthesis techniques have enabled precise control over the sizes and shapes of metal nanoparticles6, 7, 8, occasionally leading to morphologies that cannot be properly characterized using standard techniques. An example is five-fold-twinned decahedral Au nanoparticles, which are intrinsically strained as a result of their unique geometry. Various competing models have been proposed to predict the strain states of such nanoparticles. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the internal structure of a decahedral Au nanoparticle using aberration-corrected high-resolution electron microscopy and strain mapping. Our measurements confirm the presence of a disclination, which is consistent with the commonly accepted strain model. However, we also observed shear gradients, which are absent from the models. By comparing our local strain determinations with finite-element calculations, we show the effect of elastic anisotropy on the strain state in these nanoparticles.
- CEMES-CNRS, 29, rue Jeanne-Marvig 31055 Toulouse, France
- Departamento de Químíca Física and Unidad Asociada CSIC, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain
Correspondence to: Craig L. Johnson1 e-mail: johnson@cemes.fr
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