Characterization and Spark Plasma Sintering of Mechanically Milled Aluminum-Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Composite Powders

Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced metallic composites have been recently gaining a significant amount of scientific interest. The promise of transmitting part of the remarkable and outstanding properties of CNTs to metals has spurred efforts to design and manufacture metallic composites reinforced with CNTs. Out of the metallic matrices investigated, Al has received significant attention. The stability of these powders at high temperatures is important to investigate, since they would ultimately be consolidated at elevated temperatures into useful products, and service temperature limits will be important. In this article, we discuss the detailed characterization of SPEX milled Al-CNT powders (well-dispersed CNTs in an Al matrix at 2.5 and 5.0 wt% loading), their heat treatment and consolidation using spark plasma sintering.