Abstract
Nickel nanocomposites reinforced by carbon nanotubes (Ni-CNTs) are one of the possible candidates for applications in highly demanding industries such as the automotive and aerospace industries. As is well known, one of the limitations on the use of some materials in these applications is thermal stability. Some components in these industries are frequently subjected to high temperatures, which is crucial to understanding their microstructures and, consequently, their mechanical properties. For this reason, the main objective of this research is to understand the microstructural evolution of Ni-CNTs nanocomposites when subjected to heat treatment. The nanocomposites with varying levels of CNT content were produced by powder metallurgy, and unreinforced nickel was used for comparison purposes under the same conditions. The dispersion of CNTs, a critical aspect of nanocomposites production, was carried out by ultrasonication, which already proved its efficiency in previous research. The heat treatments were performed under high vacuum conditions at high temperatures (700 and 1100 °C for 30 and 120 min, respectively). Microhardness tests analyzed the mechanical properties while the extensive microstructural evaluation was conducted by combining advanced characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution TEM. The obtained results are promising and show that the presence of CNTs can contribute to the thermal stability of the Ni-CNT nanocomposites produced.
Highlights
Environmental consciousness is increasing along with stricter regulations and the urgent need to reduce fuel consumption
Images and the Inverse pole figure (IPF) map, Kernel average misorientation (KAM), and image quality (IQ) with high- and low-angle boundaries and twin boundaries delineated of a nanocomposites reinforced by carbon nanotubes (Ni-carbon nanotubes (CNTs)) particle after ultrasonication process
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images in Figure 1a reveal that some particle agglomeration occurred during the process, promoting a change in the shape of the Ni-CNT powders were evaluated by SEM and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) results
Summary
Environmental consciousness is increasing along with stricter regulations and the urgent need to reduce fuel consumption. There is a wide range of possible candidates available as reinforcements, such as some carbides [4,5,6,7] and oxides [8,9,10,11], carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been living up to their great potential since their discovery by Iijima [12] Their unique structure, with a high aspect ratio and large surface area, low density, and excellent properties, makes them a suitable and efficient material to reinforce several metallic matrices [13,14,15,16,17,18]
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