Mechanical response of gasoline soot nanoparticles under compression: An in situ TEM study

Gasoline soot nanoparticles (SNPs) were studied by performing in situ compression tests on individual nanoparticles inside a transmission electron microscope. After consecutive compressions, the SNPs exhibited an elasto-plastic behavior, and an increasing trend in Young's modulus and hardness values. Molecular dynamics were used to simulate compression cycles, the results of which confirmed the observations made during the experiments. The simulations were used to investigate how the different structural components of the nanoparticles affect their elastic and plastic response. By comparing the behavior of gasoline and diesel SNPs under compression, differences were observed both experimentally and in the simulations: the former were found to be more elastic and less prone to become hard under compression compared to the latter.