Abstract The chemical reaction between graphene and Al matrix plays an important role in determining the interface states and mechanical performances of graphene nanosheet (GNS) reinforced Al matrix composites. In this study, effects of interfacial reaction on the strengthening behaviors of GNS/Al composites were investigated. The formation of reaction products, aluminum carbide (Al4C3), was finely tailored with sintering temperature ranging from 500 °C to 620 °C. Interface microstructure characterizations demonstrated three interface states, which were tight GNS-Al interfaces without carbides, partial reaction GNS-Al4C3–Al interfaces with nano-sized carbides, and complete reaction Al4C3–Al interfaces with larger carbides. Tensile test results revealed that higher strength and ductility was achieved in the composites with tight and carbide-free GNS-Al interfaces, mainly attributing to the interaction between GNS-Al interface and dislocations, rather than load transfer mechanism. This work may provide a new insight into the interface design and strengthening behaviors in graphene/Al composites.

中文翻译：

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无反应界面促进石墨烯纳米片/铝复合材料的强度-延展性平衡

摘要 石墨烯与铝基体之间的化学反应在决定石墨烯纳米片（GNS）增强铝基复合材料的界面态和力学性能方面起着重要作用。在这项研究中，研究了界面反应对 GNS/Al 复合材料强化行为的影响。反应产物碳化铝 (Al4C3) 的形成经过精细调整，烧结温度范围为 500 °C 至 620 °C。界面微观结构表征显示了三种界面状态，即没有碳化物的紧密 GNS-Al 界面、具有纳米级碳化物的部分反应 GNS-Al4C3-Al 界面和与较大碳化物的完全反应 Al4C3-Al 界面。拉伸试验结果表明，具有紧密和无碳化物的 GNS-Al 界面的复合材料具有更高的强度和延展性，这主要归因于 GNS-Al 界面与位错之间的相互作用，而不是载荷传递机制。这项工作可能为石墨烯/铝复合材料的界面设计和强化行为提供新的见解。