RT journal article
T1 Modification of the Mechanical Properties of Core-Shell Liquid Gallium Nanoparticles by Thermal Oxidation at Low Temperature
A1 Catalán-Gómez, Sergio
A1 Redondo-Cubero, Andrés
A1 Morales, Miguel
A1 Mata Fernández, María de la
A1 Molina Rubio, Sergio Ignacio
A1 Palomares, Francisco J.
A1 Carnicero, Alberto
A1 Pau, José L.
A1 Vázquez, Luis
A2 Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Química Inorgánica
K1 atomic force microscopy
K1 core-shell nanoparticles
K1 liquid gallium
K1 mechanical properties
AB Gallium nanoparticles (Ga NPs) are attracting increasing attention because of their appealing physical-chemical properties. In particular, their mechanical properties play a key role in the implementation of these core-shell structures on certain applications, such as soft and stretchable electronics. Thus, efforts are being addressed to modulate them mainly by chemical means. In contrast, this study investigates how the mechanical properties of the outer gallium thin oxide shell change when its thickness is increased through a thermal oxidation strategy. Specifically, as-deposited Ga NPs, as well as those subjected to thermal oxidation at 300 degrees C for three different times, are studied by performing single-particle indentations by atomic force microscopy over a wide range of NP radius. This analysis helps to confirm that the Reissner's thin-shell model for small deformations within the elastic regime is obeyed. From these data, the dependence of the shell stiffness and the Young's modulus of the gallium oxide on the thermal treatment is obtained. It is found that the shell stiffness increases with the annealing time, even by a factor of 50 under prolonged thermal oxidation, while the gallium oxide Young's modulus, close to 30 GPa, does not change significantly.
PB WILEY
SN 0934-0866
YR 2021
FD 2021-08
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/27017
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/27017
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 22-sep-2026