ALD Functionalized Nanoporous Gold: Thermal Stability, Mechanical Properties, and Catalytic Activity

Nanoporous metals have many technologically promising applications, but their tendency to coarsen limits their long-term stability and excludes high temperature applications. Here, we demonstrate that atomic layer deposition (ALD) can be used to stabilize and functionalize nanoporous metals. Specifically, we studied the effect of nanometer-thick alumina and titania ALD films on thermal stability, mechanical properties, and catalytic activity of nanoporous gold (np-Au). Our results demonstrate that even only 1 nm thick oxide films can stabilize the nanoscale morphology of np-Au up to 1000 degrees C, while simultaneously making the material stronger and stiffer. The catalytic activity of np-Au can be drastically increased by TiO2 ALD coatings. Our results open the door to high-temperature sensor, actuator, and catalysis applications and functionalized electrodes for energy storage and harvesting applications.