Mechanical Properties of Nanoparticles: Characterization by In situ Nanoindentation Inside a Transmission Electron Microscope

International audienceThis chapter focuses on the nanoindentation of nanoparticles. It presents the most important works performed on thin sections of bulk materials. Most of the in situ mechanical experiments performed on nanoparticles are called “nanoindentation”. Such tests can also be called “nanocompression”, because they consist of a load under compression of the particles between two plateaus. Three main sample geometries can be envisaged for Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) in situ nanoindentation experiments: nanopillars, thin sections, and nanoparticles. Isolated nanoparticles are widely studied by in situ nanoindentation to observe their behavior in real time and to determine their mechanical behavior. Two major results are obtained from an in situ nanoindentation experiment: images or movies and load–displacement curves. Numerical simulation can be used to complete and interpret the results obtained during in situ testing. Finite element (FE) simulations can be used to determine the constitutive law for nanosolicitation tests