Manufacturing of Al-TiB2 Nanocomposites by Flux-Assisted Liquid State Processing

Aluminum matrix nanocomposite (AMNC) materials are of great interests for various structural and functional applications for automotive, aerospace, and military. In this study pure aluminum (Al) with one and two volume percent (vol.%) of titanium diboride (TiB2) nanoparticles were produced via flux-assisted liquid state processing. Adding flux during nanoparticle feeding can significantly improve nanoparticle incorporation into molten Al. TiB2 nanoparticles as small as 100 nm were successfully incorporated into pure Al using potassium aluminum fluoride (KAlF4) flux. TiB2 nanoparticles were fairly distributed and dispersed in the Al-2 vol.% TiB2 nanocomposite. Vickers hardness of the Al-2 vol.% TiB2 nanocomposite was higher than the as-received pure Al. While KAlF4 flux is proven to enhance the nanoparticle incorporation efficiency in Al system, further study is needed to thoroughly remove the flux remnant from Al matrix, to enhance the effect of the TiB2 nanoparticle reinforcement.