Xiong, G;
Clark, J;
Nicklin, C;
Rawle, J;
Robinson, IK;
(2014)
Atomic Diffusion within Individual Gold Nanocrystal.
Scientific Reports
, 4
, Article 6765. 10.1038/srep06765.
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Abstract
Due to their excess surface free energy and structural instabilities, nanoparticles exhibit interesting physical and chemical properties. There has been an ever-growing interest in investigating these properties, driven by the desire to further miniaturize electronic devices, develop new functional materials and catalysts. Here, the intriguing question of how diffusion evolves in a single nanoparticle is investigated by measuring the spatial and temporal variations of the diffracted coherent X-ray intensity during copper diffusion into a gold nanocrystal. Dislocation loops formed from the insertion of single layer of extra atoms between neighbouring gold host lattice planes are detected. Au-Cu alloy channels are found to penetrate the nanocrystal due to the differential diffusion rate along different directions. With the advent of higher brilliance sources and free-electron-lasers, Bragg Coherent X-ray Diffraction Imaging can play an important role in unveiling atomic behaviours in three dimensions for nanomaterials during various fundamental processes.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Atomic Diffusion within Individual Gold Nanocrystal |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/srep06765 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/ 0.1038/srep06765 |
| Additional information: | © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder in order to reproduce the material. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > London Centre for Nanotechnology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1443545 |
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