Electronically tunable conductivity of a nanoporous Au–Fe alloy

A change of the DC electrical conductivity of a nanoporous Au0.75Fe0.25 alloy was observed when surface charge was induced on the nanomaterial by making it a working electrode in an electrochemical cell. Simultaneous voltammetry and conductivity measurements over several voltage cycles in the range −0.4 to +0.7 V showed a reversible change in conductivity of 1.3%. The variation of conductivity with induced charge is interpreted in terms of the Sommerfeld model for metallic conduction.