Monolithic nanoporous copper by dealloying Mn-Cu

Monolithic nanoporous copper was synthesized by dealloying Mn0.7Cu0.3 by two distinct methods: potentiostatically driven dealloying and free corrosion. Both the ligament size and morphology were found to be highly dependent on the dealloying methods and conditions. For example, ligaments from 16 nm-125 nm were obtained by dealloying either electrochemically or by free corrosion, respectively. Optimization of the starting Mn-Cu alloy microstructure allowed us to synthesize uniform porous structures; but we found cracking to be unavoidable. Despite the presence of unavoidable defects, the narroporous material still exhibits higher than expected yield strength.