Structural proprieties of the Al–Al 4 C 3 nanocomposite produced via mechanical alloying and annealing

Abstract

The Al–Al4C3 nanocomposite was produced via mechanical alloying of Al 6 wt% C mixture for a predetermined time (up to 20 h), followed by annealing. The structural evolution was characterised via X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope equipped with electron energy loss spectrometer. In addition, focused ion beam–scanning electron microscopy was used for locating and analysing the reinforcing particles. During milling, the size of aluminium particles reached the nanometre scale with a 54 nm size. After annealing, carbide was homogeneously distributed in the nanostructured aluminium particles with an average size of 50 nm, result in an average hardness of 320 HV. This was observed for the powder that was mechanically milled for 20 h and that underwent annealing from room temperature to 540°C and was maintained at this temperature for 4 h.