Abstract
Nanoporous gold made by alloy corrosion can be vacuum-impregnated with epoxy resin to produce a polymer-based nanocomposite that is reinforced by an interconnected network of metal nanostructures. The composite
is ductile in tension and compression, its strength considerably exceeds that of each of the constituent phases, and its electric conductivity reaches 1% of that of high-purity massive copper. The finding validates a
novel materials design strategy that exploits the trend of “smaller is stronger” in metal nanostructures by incorporating them into a bulk composite material.
DOI Link to Publication