Porosity effects on nanoporous Au Young’s modulus

Abstract Nanoporous Au is a model system extensively studied to investigate how porosity affects the mechanical behaviour. To fabricate nanoporous Au structures with similar ligament diameter, but different solid volume fractions, we applied tailored dealloying procedures to Ag-Au alloys with Au atomic fraction ranging from 0.20 to 0.41. Their Young’s moduli, measured by nanoindentation, correlate with the Au atomic fraction. The scaling law we observe suggests a crucial role of percolation thresholds in the definition of mechanical properties.