Structure-Dependent Analysis of Nanoporous Metals: Clues from Mechanical, Conduction, and Flow Properties

Abstract

Nanoporous metals have emerged as promising electrocatalysts for electrochemical systems. The rational design needs us to understand the structure–property relations of such bicontinuous porous structures in detail. In this study, we investigate the effect of microstructures on effective macro-properties of three types of nanoporous architectures, namely dealloying structure, Voronoi structure, and diamond structure. These structures have similar values of nodal connectivity and relative density. Finite volume simulations are carried out to predict the effective mechanical, conduction and flow properties. Quantitative structural analysis reveals that the dealloying and Voronoi structures are distinct in terms of ligament curliness, whereas the diamond structure is a long-range order topology. The results suggest that the specific surface area, Young’s modulus, yield strength, conductivity, and permeability are highly sensitive to the curliness factor, while being relatively much less sensitive to the distributions of pore size and ligament diameter. The present study provides not only new insights into the structure–property relations of nanoporous metals but also a practical guide for their practical application.