Fabrication of homogeneously dispersed graphene/Al composites by solution mixing and powder metallurgy

• Published in: International journal of minerals, metallurgy and materials Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 102 - 109
• Main Authors: Zeng, Xiang, Teng, Jie, Yu, Jin-gang, Tan, Ao-shuang, Fu, Ding-fa, Zhang, Hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing University of Science and Technology Beijing 2018; Springer Nature B.V; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China%Colege of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Efficient and Clean Utilization of Manganese Resources, Central South Univer-sity, Changsha 410083, China
• Subjects: Aluminum; Aluminum base alloys; Aluminum matrix composites; Ceramic fibers; Ceramics; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical composition; Chemical vapor deposition; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Composites; Corrosion and Coatings; Electron microscopy; Fabrication; Fourier transforms; Fracture mechanics; Glass; Graphene; Infrared spectroscopy; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Metallic Materials; Metallurgy; Methods; Microhardness; Nanocomposites; Natural Materials; Powder metallurgy; Raman spectroscopy; Scanning electron microscopy; Surfaces and Interfaces; Tensile strength; Tensile tests; Thin Films; Tribology; powder metallurgy; solution mixing; metal matrix composites; graphene; mechanical properties
• ISSN: 1674-4799; 1869-103X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12613-018-1552-4

Graphene-reinforced aluminum(Al) matrix composites were successfully prepared via solution mixing and powder metallurgy in this study. The mechanical properties of the composites were studied using microhardness and tensile tests. Compared to the pure Al alloy, the graphene/Al composites showed increased strength and hardness. A tensile strength of 255 MPa was achieved for the graphene/Al composite with only 0.3 wt% graphene, which has a 25% increase over the tensile strength of the pure Al matrix. Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the morphologies, chemical compositions, and microstructures of the graphene and the graphene/Al composites. On the basis of fractographic evidence, a relevant fracture mechanism is proposed.