Single-crystal sodium nanostructures (SNs) grown from
sodium chloride (NaCl) powder were observed under e-beam irradiation
by in situ transmission electron microscopy technique. A novel charge-supported
growth (CSG) mode was proposed to explain the rich growth dynamics
observed in the in situ experiments, including diameter-dependent
growth velocity, self-avoiding growth mode, and seized growth. The
electrostatic effect was found to be the main driving force of the
CSG. Superplasticity was also found in the single-crystal SNs that
showed plastic superplastic elongations of ∼300% upon tension.
The small size effect was found to be the main reason for the superplasticity.
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