Characterization of aluminum-carbon composites obtained via mechanical activation of aluminum and carbon nanotubes

• Published in: Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Physics 2013-02, Vol.77 (2), p.162-165
• Main Authors: Selyutin, A. G., Shmakov, A. N., Kuznetsov, V. L., Moseenkov, S. I., Dudina, D. V., Lomovsky, O. I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activation; Activation analysis; Aluminum; Carbon; Composite materials; Defects; Diffraction patterns; Gas flow; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Multi wall carbon nanotubes; Nanotubes; Nuclear Physics; Particulate composites; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Rare gases; Synchrotron radiation; Thermal stability; X ray detectors; X-ray diffraction; X-rays
• ISSN: 1062-8738; 1934-9432
• DOI: 10.3103/S1062873813020329

The relaxation of structural defects of aluminum-multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) composite materials obtained via mechanical activation is studied in situ by X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. Mechanically activated Al-MWCNT mixtures are annealed at temperatures of up to 600°C in an inert gas flow and X-ray diffraction patterns are simultaneously registered with a position-sensitive X-ray detector. It is demonstrated that mechanically activated samples of pure Al and composites with large-diameter MWCNTs (∼20 nm) begin to experience the relaxation of defects accumulated during mechanical activation at temperatures as low as 100–150°C, while samples with small-diameter MWCNTs (∼10 nm) exhibit thermal stability of structural defects up to 500°C.