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journal article·2026-06

Interfacial Plating Driving Convection‐Like Motion of a Sandwiched Nanocrystal

Yueqing Yang, Degang Xie, Shuhei Shinzato, Zhiyu Nie, Xinyao Wang, Suyang Sun, Wei Zhang, Jingzhao Chen, Hongjun Ye, Jianyu Huang, En Ma, Shigenobu Ogata, Ju Li, Zhiwei Shan

Small· Volume 22· Issue 35
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Source abstract

Abstract

ABSTRACT In crystalline solids, thermally driven atomic fluxes are generally linked to surface reshaping or coarsening, not sustained translation of an intact crystal. We show that when nanoscale Cu, Ag, and Al crystals are confined between two plates and subjected to axial temperature gradients approaching 10 8 K m −1 , they sustain a persistent, convection‐like bidirectional mass flow. Thermo‐mechanical‐induced surface migration transports atoms from the hot end to the cold end, where interfacial insertion generates a self‐regulated compressive back stress of up to 10 2 MPa—sufficient to push the crystalline core in the reverse direction. This closed‐loop transport, coupling directional surface diffusion with rigid‐body motion, is supported by molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical analysis. The findings reveal a previously unrecognized regime of mass‐stress coupling in solids, opening new routes for solid‐based thermal actuation and informing the thermal‐mechanical reliability of nanoscale devices.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

Nanomaterials

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Materials and Mechanics · Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications · Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale (CAMP‐Nano) State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an P. R. China

State Grid Shandong Electric Power Research Institute Jinan P. R. China

Department of Mechanical Science and Bioengineering The University of Osaka Osaka Japan

Center for Alloy Innovation and Design (CAID) State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an P. R. China

Clean Nano Energy Center State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology Yanshan University Qinhuangdao P. R. China

Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge Massachusetts USA

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province

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