Five-parameter grain boundary character distribution of gold nanoparticles based on three dimensional orientation mapping in the TEM. (June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhu, Wanquan; Wu, Guilin; Godfrey, Andrew; Schmidt, Søren; He, Qiongyao; Feng, Zongqiang; Huang, Tianlin; Zhang, Ling; Huang, Xiaoxu
• Is Part Of: Scripta materialia. Number 214(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Subjects: Nanoparticles -- 3D reconstruction -- Microstructure -- Grain boundaries -- 3D-OMiTEM; Materials -- Periodicals; Metallurgy -- Periodicals; Metalen; Legeringen; Materiaalkunde; Metals, metalworking and machinery industries; Metals; Electronic journals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2022.114677
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1359-6462

Abstract

Abstract: Three-dimensional orientation mapping in the transmission electron microscope (3D-OMiTEM) has been used to characterize the grain structure of an ion-sputtered gold nanoparticle film. The three-dimensional morphology and crystallographic orientations of ∼7500 grains in more than 1200 nanoparticles were reconstructed. It was found that the grains have an average size of 8 nm and a weak crystallographic texture. A five-parameter grain boundary character analysis revealed that the microstructure mainly consists of Σ3, Σ9, Σ11, and Σ27a boundaries. Differences in the grain boundary plane distributions for these specific misorientations compared to those found for coarse grain-size materials were attributed to extensive grain boundary termination at nanoparticle surfaces. The grain boundary population is, nevertheless, on average inversely correlated to the grain boundary energy, as reported in previous studies. These findings can serve as a guide for tailoring the grain boundary character distribution and properties of nanoparticles and nanocrystalline thin films. Graphical abstract: Image, graphical abstract