Carbon nanotubes/aluminum interface structure and its effects on the strength and electrical conductivity of aluminum

The contradiction between strength and electrical conductivity of pure aluminum (Al) hinders its wide applications in electrical engineering. In this study, an attempt was made to overcome this limitation by adding carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into Al matrix using friction stir processing (FSP) method. The results showed that CNTs were singly distributed in Al matrix and strong bonded CNTs/Al interfaces without chemical reaction as well as impurity contamination were formed. Interestingly, it was found that the axis of CNTs tended to be parallel to Al (111) planes, which provided a geometric basis for the formation of semi-coherent CNTs/Al interfaces. These semi-coherent CNTs/Al interfaces possessed an extremely low electrical resistivity, which weakened the total electron scattering generated by all CNT/Al interfaces. Meanwhile, strong bonded CNTs/Al interfaces effectively hindered dislocations movement, inducing an improvement of 84 % and 50 % in yield strength and tensile strength of Al respectively. As a result, the strength of Al was significantly improved without losing its electrical conductivity. This study provides a new strategy for breaking through the contradiction between strength and electrical conductivity of Al and then producing CNTs/Al nanocomposites with high strength and high electrical conductivity.