Effective Dispersion of CNTs to Fabricate CNT/Mg Nanocomposite

Abstract

An effective dispersion process to cast CNT-reinforced in a concentrated magnesium alloy (AZ31) nanocomposite was investigated in this study. The metal magnesium powder was first coated with dispersed CNTs by wet process, followed by the fabricating of CNT/Mg precursor using mechanical briquetting and extrusion. The resultant precursor was then added into AZ31 alloy during the melting process. Finally, CNT/Mg nanocomposites with grain refinement matrix composite were fabricated in as-cast and as-extruded. Compared with the commercial AZ31 alloy, CNT/Mg nanocomposites exhibited higher yield strength of 270 MPa with an increase of 22.7%, which can be largely ascribed to the effective dispersion process of CNTs in the alloy matrix, and the elongation is no significant decrease.