Hollow and porous structures utilizing the Kirkendall effect

The Kirkendall effect can be used as a very useful processing tool to create hollow and porous structures. This process for making hollow structures was first identified in 2004 by Yin and colleagues. Since then the number of publications each year has increased dramatically. We provide a background of the Kirkendall effect by discussing the original research. After the background, we discuss the work that led to the creation of hollow nanometer and micrometer-scale tubes and particles as a well as porous structures.