Deformation Twinning of a Silver Nanocrystal under High Pressure.
Within a high-pressure environment, crystal deformation is controlled by complex processes such as dislocation motion, twinning, and phase transitions, which change materials' microscopic morphology and alter their properties. Understanding a crystal's response to external stress provides a unique opportunity for rational tailoring of its functionalities. It is very challenging to track the strain evolution and physical deformation from a single nanoscale crystal under high-pressure stress. Here, we report an in situ three-dimensional mapping of morphology and strain evolutions in a single-crystal silver nanocube within a high-pressure environment using the Bragg Coherent Diffractive Imaging (CDI) method. We observed a continuous lattice distortion, followed by a deformation twining process at a constant pressure. The ability to visualize stress-introduced deformation of nanocrystals with high spatial resolution and prominent strain sensitivity provides an important route for interpreting and engineering novel properties of nanomaterials.
HPSynC, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington , Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States.
Xiaojing
X
Huang
HPSynC, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington , Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States.|Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Shanghai 201203, China.
Wenge
W
Yang
Ross
R
Harder
Yugang
Y
Sun
Ming
M
Lu
Yong S
YS
Chu
London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London , London, WC1H 0AH, United Kingdom.|Research Complex at Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, United Kingdom.
Ian K
IK
Robinson
Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Shanghai 201203, China.|Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington , Washington, DC 20015, United States.
Ho-Kwang
HK
Mao
Nanocrystal; X-ray imaging; coherent diffractive imaging; deformation twinning