Nucleation and growth mechanisms of interfacial carbide in graphene nanosheet/Al composites. (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Yuanyuan; Tan, Zhanqiu; Fan, Genlian; Zhang, Zhibo; Xiong, Ding-Bang; Guo, Qiang; Li, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Di
• Is Part Of: Carbon. Volume 161(2020)
• Page Start: 17
• Page End: 24
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: Carbon -- Periodicals; Carbone -- Périodiques; Koolstof; Toepassingen; Electronic journals; 546.681
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2020.01.032
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-6223

Abstract

Abstract: The interface reaction is the focus of interface control in the graphene/Al composites, but its evolution processes are still unclear. The present work revealed the nucleation and growth mechanisms of the interfacial reaction product, aluminum carbide (Al4 C3 ), in the graphene nanosheet (GNS)/Al composites. The nucleation of Al4 C3 was found to mainly start at the open edge of GNSs due to the high chemical reactivity, and the formed Al4 C3 was found to mostly locate either along or at an angle to the Al grain boundary, e.g. (i) ∼25° angle between Al4 C3 (003) and Al (-111); (ii) Al4 C3 (003)//Al (1-11); (iii) Al4 C3 (003)//Al (002); (iv) Al4 C3 (003)//Al (2-20). The growth of Al4 C3 was controlled by the diffusional growth parallel to (003) plane and the nucleation growth perpendicular to (003) plane. Besides, the possible intermediate states, the C–Al interfacial transition zone, and the interfacial reaction transition phase were also observed. This work provides a theoretical basis for the further tailoring of interface bonding and property improvements of graphene/Al composites. Graphical abstract: Image 1069