An Exploratory Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of the Nanostructured Porous Materials Deposited by Laser-Induced Chemical Solution Synthesis

Abstract

Laser-induced chemical solution synthesis has been recently developed as a new generic method to create porous nanostructured materials for complex and miniaturized devices. The material made by this approach is successfully demonstrated for electrochemical catalytic, nanoscale powders, protective coatings, and other applications. One question has therefore been raised: What are the mechanical properties of the porous materials deposited by the laser-induced chemical solution synthesis? This paper has attempted to explore the mechanical properties of such porous nanostructured materials deposited by this new nanomanufacturing method. This process also offers an innovative opportunity to study the strength of a very simple bonding in additive manufacturing. A thin-film of copper nanoparticles is deposited on copper substrates; then, the microstructure of the deposited film is characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and mechanical properties are investigated by a variety of experiments, such as microhardness test, nano-indentation test, bending test, and adhesion test. The mechanical properties of substrates with surface deposition have been shown to have adequate bond strength (>60 g/mm) to allow effective usage in intended applications. Based on the test results, statistical regression and significant tests have also been carried out. A new model for the nano-indentation of the porous coating (film) is proposed. The empirical results have shown that the effect of coating thickness is more prominent on mechanical properties in the case of thick coating deposition.