Dealloying in Individual Nanoparticles and Thin Film Grains: A Bragg Coherent Diffractive Imaging Study

Dealloying is a process whereby selective dissolution results in a porous, strained structure often with new properties. The process is of both intrinsic and applied interest, and recently has been used to make highly active catalysts. The porosity has been studied using electron microscopy while the dealloying‐induced strain has been studied at the ensemble level using X‐ray diffraction. Despite the importance of local, for example, at the individual particle or grain level, strain in controlling the properties of the dealloyed material, it remains unresolved due to the difficulty of imaging 3D strain distributions with nanometer resolution in reactive environments. This information could play an integral role in understanding and controlling lattice strain for a variety of applications. Here, 3D strain distributions in individual nanoparticles and thin film grains in silver–gold alloys undergoing nitric acid‐induced dealloying are imaged by Bragg coherent diffractive imaging. Particles exhibit dramatic changes in their local strains due to dealloying but grains do not. The average lattice in both grains and particles contracts during dealloying. In general, the results reveal significant dealloying‐induced strain heterogeneity at the nanoscale in both isolated and extended samples, which may be utilized to develop advanced nanostructures for a variety of important applications.