Fabrication and Characterization of Functionally Graded Nanocomposites: Impact of Graphene and Vanadium Carbide on Aluminum Matrix

Abstract

Functional graded nanocomposites (FGNCs) based on Al are artificially tailored heterogeneous materials intended to serve the demand for diverse and contradicting properties used in various industrial applications. FGNCs and hybrid FGNCs (HFGNCs) based on Al reinforced with graphene and vanadium carbide (VC) were prepared using powder metallurgy techniques and investigated. Both samples were designed with a gradient composition, where the bottom layer consisted of 100% pure Al, followed by three consecutive layers containing progressively increasing amounts of reinforcement. The incorporation of graphene and VC into layer powders resulted in a decrease in both particle and crystal dimensions compared to pure Al. Adding graphene has a negative effect on bulk density samples, while VC has a positive effect. Reinforcing materials led to a decrease in thermal conductivity that reached 26.7% for samples reinforced with VC reinforcement, except for FGNCs reinforced with graphene, which increased by ∼3.3 compared to Al. The samples’ CTE and electrical conductivity values decreased, although adding graphene alone led to a slight decrease in electrical conductivity. A significant improvement in all mechanical properties was noted with additional. The HFGCNs reinforced with the largest amount of hybrid reinforcement recorded an improvement in CTE value, Young’s modulus, and compressive strength by about 38.1%, 22.2%, and 20.5%, respectively, compared to Al.