Abstract

A simple, scalable, and reproducible method is used to decorate carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with metal nanoparticles (NPs). Decorating CNTs with iron NPs prior to forming steel-based metal matrix composites (MMCs) improves the high-cycle fatigue (HCF) strength of the MMC by more than 350% vs. plain 1084 steel and more than 100% vs. an MMC with untreated CNTs. An inverse correlation between CNT loading and tensile strength was observed. The CNT surface treatment uses an organic microenvironment surrounding suspended CNTs and emulsion chemistry to treat individual CNTs or small bundles. This process can be adapted to work with other metal NPs or CNT types. This work demonstrates the potential for metal-treated CNTs to further improve the HCF strength of MMCs and paves a pathway toward additional CNT-reinforced composites.

摘要

一种简单、可扩展且可重复的方法用于用金属纳米粒子 (NP) 装饰碳纳米管 (CNT)。在形成钢基金属基复合材料 (MMC) 之前用铁 NP 装饰 CNT 可使 MMC 的高周疲劳 (HCF) 强度比普通 1084 钢提高 350% 以上，与具有以下特性的 MMC 相比提高 100% 以上未经处理的碳纳米管。观察到CNT负载和拉伸强度之间的负相关。碳纳米管表面处理使用围绕悬浮碳纳米管和乳液化学的有机微环境来处理单个碳纳米管或小束。此过程可适用于其他金属 NP 或 CNT 类型。这项工作证明了金属处理的碳纳米管有可能进一步提高 MMC 的 HCF 强度，并为额外的碳纳米管增强复合材料铺平了道路。