Strong and ductile carbon nanotube/aluminum bulk nanolaminated composites with two-dimensional alignment of carbon nanotubes

In order to combine high tensile strength and ductile behavior, carbon nanotube (CNT)/Al nanolaminated composites with alternating layers of Al(similar to 400 nm) and CNTs (similar to 50 nm) were fabricated by flake powder metallurgy. Compared with conventional homogeneous nanocomposites composed of the same constituents, the final bulk products with high level ordered nanolaminates exhibited both greatly improved tensile strength of 375 MPa and plasticity of 12%, mainly because they enabled enhanced dislocation storage capability and two-dimensional alignment of CNTs. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.