Local heterogeneity in the mechanical properties of bicontinuous composites made by liquid metal dealloying

Bicontinuous composites made by liquid metal dealloying are excellent structural materials, with a unique combination of size-dependent strengthening and facile fabrication. However, due to the stochastic nature of dealloying, the local composition of individual ligaments can vary significantly and it is an open research question how this affects the bulk mechanical behavior. In this study, we use statistically significant nanoindentation to characterize the mechanical properties of individual phases in dealloyed bicontinuous composites. Through the analysis of several thousand indents, we correlate variances in the hardness and elastic modulus directly with the local microstructure and composition of the material.