Dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in aluminum powder

In the present work, we use mechanical alloying (MA) for the first time to generate a homogenous distribution of 2 wt% CNT within Al powders. The effect of milling time (up to 48 h) on the morphological development of the powders and dispersion of CNTs was investigated. The results show that the technique is effective in dispersing the nanotubes within the soft Al matrix which simultaneously protects the nanotubes from damage under the impact of the milling balls. The results can have important implications for the processing of CNT-reinforced metal-matrix composites in general.