Strengthening Effects of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Nanoplatelets Reinforced in Nickel Matrix Nanocomposites

摘要: The multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) reinforced nickel matrix nanocomposites (Ni-GNP) have been processed via dry ball milling followed by a spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The CNT and GNP content in these nanocomposites has been varied from 0.5 to 2 wt/% in order to study their effect on the microstructure and mechanical behavior of these composites. Ni-CNT/GNP powder is milled for six hours to investigate the effect on the microstructure, grain size, and the dispersion of CNT/GNP in the nickel matrix. Ni-CNT/GNP nanocomposites exhibited improvement in microhardness and mechanical performance in comparison with pure nickel. This improvement in Ni-CNT/GNP nanocomposites is primarily attributed to the uniform dispersion of reinforcement within the nickel matrix, refined grain size, and strong nickel CNT/GNP interfacial bonding, which …