Probing nanomechanical properties of nickel coated bacteria by nanoindentation

As a powerful method for the study of mechanical properties at micro-/nanoscale, nanoindentation was applied to measure the hardness and elastic modulus of bacteria-templated metallic nanomaterials for the first time. Based on the morphological characterization by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), nanoindentation testing results showed that after coating with nickel via electroless chemical plating, the elastic modulus and hardness of bacterial cells were increased about 17 times and 50 times, respectively, indicating a great improvement in mechanical properties. This study would lay a forceful mechanical foundation for a better and general understanding of this kind of biotemplated metallic nanomaterials, which showed potential applications in nanoelectronics, nanomagnetism and nanomechanics.