three-dimensional imaging of strain in gold nanocrystals during catalytic oxidation.

The chemical properties of materials are dependent on dynamic changes in their three-dimensional (3D) structure as well as on the reactive environment. We report an 3D imaging study of defect dynamics of a single gold nanocrystal. Our findings offer an insight into its dynamic nanostructure and unravel the formation of a nanotwin network under CO oxidation conditions.