Rationalizing the Fabrication Conditions for Nanoporous Gold

Electrochemical dealloying has proven to be an efficient way of fabricating nanoporous gold. The morphology of nanoporous gold can be tailored by controlling factors such as the etching time, temperature of the electrolyte used, composition of the alloy, pre and/or post heat treatment and voltage applied to suit applications such as fuel cell electrodes and sensors. This work aims at studying the effect of some of these factors, for example the electrolyte concentration on the dealloying processes, especially on the morphology. A model relating the factors including the processing parameters and the pore size is established by statistical approaches using the Design Expert 7.1 software. An equation that correlates the individual as well as the interaction effects on nanoporous gold is proposed. The validity of the equation is verified by existing research results and also by carrying out a series of tests.