Ultra-low density polymers, metals, and ceramic nanofoams are valued for their high strength-to-weight ratio, high surface area and insulating properties ascribed to their structural geometry. We obtain the labrynthine internal structure of a tantalum oxide nanofoam by X-ray diffractive imaging. Finite element analysis from the structure reveals mechanical properties consistent with bulk samples and with a diffusion limited cluster aggregation model, while excess mass on the nodes discounts the dangling fragments hypothesis of percolation theory.
@article{arxiv.0708.4035,
title = {Three-dimensional coherent X-ray diffraction imaging of a ceramic nanofoam: determination of structural deformation mechanisms},
author = {A. Barty and S. Marchesini and H. N. Chapman and C. Cui and M. R. Howells and D. A. Shapiro and A. M. Minor and J. C. H. Spence and U. Weierstall and J. Ilavsky and A. Noy and S. P. Hau-Riege and A. B. Artyukhin and T. Baumann and T. Willey and J. Stolken and T. van Buuren and J. H. Kinney},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0708.4035},
year = {2008}
}