Mechanical properties and microstructures of carbon nanotube-reinforced Al matrix composite fabricated by in situ chemical vapor deposition

This work reports CNT-reinforced Al nanocomposites fabricated with in situ chemical vapor deposition process for achieving homogeneous dispersion of CNTs and good interfacial bonding between CNT and metallic matrices. The mechanical strength of CNT/Al nanocomposites is dependent on CNT addition, while the fracture strain degrades compared with that of pure metal. The good reinforcement of CNT/metal nanocomposites is attributed to the strong interfacial bonding as well as the homogeneous dispersion of CNTs in the matrix. Furthermore, the strong interfacial bonding is due to the existence of transition thin layer of Al4C3 between CNTs and Al matrix.