The performance of lightweight porous materials is closely dependent on the structure and composition of the components. Herein we introduced boron carbide submicron particles as reinforcements and prepared the polymer/Ni-P-B4C microlattice composite materials with diamond structure by 3D printing and electroless plating technology. Upon dissolution of the polymer template, the ultralight hollow Ni-P-B4C microlattice with a density of 6.7 to 10.2 mg·cm−3 was obtained. Compression experiments showed that by introducing B4C, the specific strength of polymer/Ni-P-B4C microlattice is 1.5 times that of polymer/Ni-P microlattice, and the specific strength of hollow Ni-P-B4C microlattice is 2 times that of hollow Ni-P microlattice. The enhancement of specific strength is attributed to the load transfer between the Ni-P matrix and B4C particles, shear band strengthening effect, and the obstacle effect of grain refinement on dislocations.
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