Manipulating mechanical properties of graphene/Al composites by an in-situ synthesized hybrid reinforcement strategy

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2021.12.072

Abstract

Abstract:

The structural deterioration caused by the relatively weak out-of-plane bending stiffness and the chemically-active edge area of graphene limits its outperformance in strengthening for Al matrix composites (AMCs). Introducing one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to graphene/metal system is one of the promised strategies to complement the weakness of 2D graphene and make full use of the outstanding intrinsic properties of the both reinforcements. To date, such synergistic strengthening and toughening mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study, AMCs reinforced by a novel hybrid reinforcement, i.e., graphene nanosheets decorated with Cu nanoparticles and CNTs (Cu@GNS-CNTs), are fabricated by an in-situ synthesis method. The combined contrast experiments validated that the organically integrated reinforcing structure promotes the intrinsic load bearing capacity of GNS and the strain hardening capability of the Al matrix simultaneously. As a result, the composites achieved excellent tensile strength and uniform elongation with almost no loss. The strengthening mechanism originated primarily from the hybrid reinforcement exhibits superior load-transfer, fracture inhibition and dislocation storage capability by controlling the interface reaction to construct an effective interface structure without damaging the reinforcement. Our work identifies a promising structural modification strategy for 2D materials and provides mechanistic insights into the synergistic strengthening effect of graphene/CNTs hybrid reinforcement.

Key words: Metal-matrix composites (MMCs), Mechanical properties, Graphene, Synergistic strengthening, Interface

Lizhuang Yang, Bowen Pu, Xiang Zhang, Junwei Sha, Chunnian He, Naiqin Zhao. Manipulating mechanical properties of graphene/Al composites by an in-situ synthesized hybrid reinforcement strategy[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2022, 123: 13-25.

Figures/Tables 13

Fig. 1. The schematic diagrams of the preparation processes for (a-c) Cu@GNS-CNTs powders and (d-g) Al-Cu@GNS-CNTs bulk composite.

Fig. 2. Morphology characterization of the as-synthesized reinforcement powders: (a-f) SEM images at different magnifications and (g-i) HRTEM images of Cu@GNS-CNTs.

Fig. 3. (a-e) TEM images of Al-2.0 Cu@GNS-CNTs composite; (f) bright-field STEM image, (g) the corresponding EDS line scan spectra of Al and Cu elements, (h) TEM observation of CNTs on basal-plane of GNS; inset images are the corresponding FFT diffraction points and IFFT image marked with box regions.

Fig. 4. (a) Tensile stress-strain curves and (b) corresponding strain-hardening curves of the pure Al and composites reinforced by Cu@GNS-CNTs; (c) strain hardening exponent of Al and composites with different content of Cu@GNS-CNTs derived from the $\text{ln}\sigma $-$\text{ln}\varepsilon $ curves; (d) total elongation versus tensile strength plot of the Al-Cu@GNS-CNTs composites in this work compared with previously reported studies.

Table 1. Tensile properties of the pure Al and composites reinforced by Cu@GNS-CNTs with different content.

Samples	Tensile strength (MPa)	Yield strength (MPa)	Total elongation (%)	Uniform elongation (%)
Al	159 ± 5	99 ± 3	25.5 ± 2.0	11.6 ± 1.5
Al-0.5 Cu@GNS-CNTs	214 ± 7	136 ± 5	19.6 ± 2.4	11.5 ± 0.8
Al-1.0 Cu@GNS-CNTs	239 ± 7	153 ± 3	15.1 ± 0.9	10.4 ± 0.7
Al-1.5 Cu@GNS-CNTs	292 ± 10	171 ± 9	16.5 ± 0.4	11.9 ± 1.0
Al-2.0 Cu@GNS-CNTs	342 ± 5	201 ± 4	16.4 ± 2.6	11.8 ± 1.2

Fig. 5. TEM observations of (a) Al-2.0 GNS, (b, c) the corresponding magnification of the selected area A and B, respectively; (d-f) Al-2.0 Cu NPs@GNS and (g-i) Al-2.0 CNTs composites, inset images are the FFT diffraction points marked with box regions.

Fig. 6. (a) TEM characterization of reduced CNTs; (b-d) HRTEM images on the tip and outer wall of reduced CNTs; (e, f) Raman and FTIR spectroscopy of reduced CNTs; (g, h) TEM images of Cu@GNS-CNTs; (i) schematic diagram of Cu@GNS-CNTs.

Fig. 7. TEM observations on the distribution, interfacial structure and reaction in Al-2.0 Cu@GNS-mCNTs composite, inset images are the FFT diffraction points and IFFT image marked with box regions.

Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of the reaction process between Cu@GNS-CNTs and Al matrix.

Fig. 9. (a) Tensile stress-strain curves and (b) corresponding strain-hardening curves of the composites reinforced with different reinforcements.

Fig. 10. Fracture surfaces of (a, b) Al-2.0 CNTs, (c) Al-2.0 GNS, (d) Al-Cu @GNS and (e, f) Al-Cu@GNS-CNTs; (g) schematic diagram of tensile and fracture processes.

Fig. 11. EBSD on microstructure and grain size analysis for pure Al and composites reinforced by different reinforcements: (a) pure Al; (b) Al-2.0 Cu@GNS-CNTs; (c) Al-2.0 GNS; (d) Al-2.0 Cu@GNS; (e) Al-2.0 CNTs; (f) Al-2.0 Cu@GNS-mCNTs.

Fig. 12. (a) Radar chart of strengthening mechanisms and mechanical properties as a function of different composites; (b-f) schematic description for different types of distribution and interface bonding in composites.

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