Role of stress in the self-limiting oxidation of copper nanoparticles

The oxidation kinetics of Cu nanoparticles and their temperature dependences are described using an in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The oxidation behavior (self-limiting or non-self-limiting) was found to be directly related to the stress condition in the oxide shell and it helps in understanding the self-limiting oxidation kinetics of metal nanoparticles and also the control of their oxide thickness.