On measuring the independent mechanical response of the polymer phase from nanoporous gold polymer composites

Abstract

This work aims to understand the mechanical properties and potential size effect in the polymeric phase of nanoporous gold composites. We take inspiration from the extraction metallurgy of gold to leach out the Au phase from the composites, fabricating a novel nanostructured polymeric material, which was subsequently investigated by micromechanical techniques. In the case of nanoporous epoxy, no dependency on the microstructural length-scale was observed in either the elastic or plastic response, and the modulus could be well predicted by an isostrain law applied to the properties measured on the bulk polymer.