Super-high-strength graphene/titanium composites fabricated by selective laser melting

Poor chemical stability of graphene in titanium (Ti) is one critical problem to make use of the extraordinary properties of graphene for obtaining high-performance graphene/Ti composites. To overcome this problem, the selective laser melting (SLM) process with rapid heating and cooling characteristics was exploited to fabricate graphene nanosheet (GNS)-reinforced Ti-6Al-4V matrix composite in this study. Results showed that the SLMed composite registered super-high tensile strength (1526 MPa) and high Young's modulus (145 GPa), which were 73% and 26% lager than those of spark plasma sintered composites fabricated from the same powder mixture, respectively. It was found that the locally reacted GNSs and in-situ formed ultrafine TiC particles mainly contributed to the outstanding mechanical properties of SLMed GNSs/Ti composites. The underlying mechanism was thoroughly discussed based on microstructures and strengthening models. The results pave up the way towards the fabrication of super-strong Ti matrix composites. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, graphene nanosheet (GNS)-reinforced Ti-6Al-4V matrix composite was successfully fabricated using selective laser melting (SLM) process, which exhibited super-high tensile strength and high Young's modulus. The locally reacted GNSs and in-situ formed ultrafine TiC particles were found to be the main contributors to the outstanding mechanical properties of the composite.