Study of the Mechanical Behavior of Radially Grown Fivefold Twinned Nanowires on the Atomic Scale

A study fabricated copper nanowires (NWs) via a direct current electrodeposition method, using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. Fivefold twins radially grown with their central line perpendicular to the axial direction were embedded in some copper nanowires, providing us an ideal model to study the deformation mechanism of fivefold twins on the atomic scale. In situ bending tests of a single copper NW with radially grown fivefold twins were conducted, using the colloidal thin-film contraction method. The atomic scale and time-resolved dynamic results show that both the twin center and the twin boundaries (TBs) of fivefold twins act as the dislocation sources.