Diffusion controlled oriented growth of a nano porous material by the Kirkendall effect

TL;DR

This paper discusses how the Kirkendall effect can be used to control the oriented growth of nanotubes and nanoporous materials through solid state diffusion, emphasizing the importance of component mobilities.

Contribution

It demonstrates that oriented microstructures in nanoporous materials are generally achievable based on the relative mobilities of components during diffusion.

Findings

Oriented microstructure growth is common in systems with suitable component mobilities.

The Kirkendall effect can be harnessed to produce high-quality nanoporous materials.

Solid state diffusion is effective for controlled nanotube and nanoporous material synthesis.

Abstract

Nanotubes and nanoporous materials are being made by solid state diffusion utilizing the Kirkendall effect. Recently published manuscripts have shown that the product phase grows with an oriented microstructure. Based on the requirement of relative mobilities of the components to produce a good quality nanoporous material, it is shown that the oriented microstructure will grow invariably in most of the systems.