Mechanical characterization of a single gold nanowire.

Mechanical properties of gold nanowires were individually determined in this investigation using a multifunctional nanomanipulator inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Gold nanowires were synthesized by an electrochemical deposition technique. Three different characterization techniques including tensile, buckling and bending tests were adapted to quantitatively determine Young's modulus, yield stress and failure stress of the gold nanowires. The mechanical characterizations show that the nanowires were highly flexible in nature. The excellent resilience and the ability to store elastic energy in these nanowires confirm their potential applications in nano electromechanical devices.