Dealloying by metallic melt

Abstract

Dealloying, which commonly involves corrosion processes in aqueous solutions, is a promising technique for preparing functional nanoporous metals. While this technique is ideal for preparing nanoporous noble metals such as of Au, it is not readily applicable to less-noble metals. Here, we propose a novel dealloying method employing a metallic melt, instead of an aqueous solution, as the dealloying liquid for a preparing of nanoporous metals. An atomic interaction among alloy components and metallic melt causes specific component to dissolve out from the alloy solid into the melt with self-organizing nanoporous structure by the remaining component. The dealloying method can be applied for preparation of nanoporous less-noble metal such as of Ti for the development of functional materials such as fluid filters, gas absorption media, and biomaterials.