Shape Memory: Self‐Healing and Shape Memory Effects in Gold Microparticles through the Defects‐Mediated Diffusion (Adv. Sci. 8/2017)

In article number 1700159, Eugen Rabkin and co-workers observe the self-healing and shape memory effects in single crystalline faceted gold particles of sub-micrometer dimensions. Particles indented with a sharp diamond tip restored their original asymmetric shape after annealing at 600 °C. Atomistic and mesoscopic models demonstrate how a combination of plastic deformation and diffusion, which are classical examples of irreversible processes, can lead to a reversible shape recovery of the deformed particles.