Preparation and Properties of Modified Graphene Reinforced Aluminum Matrix Composites

In order to solve the problem of agglomeration of graphene in preparation of composites, GN-CeO2 powders with even dispersion were obtained by a hydrothermal reduction method, which involved modifying the surface of acidified graphene by cerium nitrate. Then, Al/GN-CeO2 composite powders and materials were prepared by high-energy ball milling and vacuum hot pressing, respectively. The details were investigated, including the effect of modification process on the surface morphology and functional groups of graphene and modification time on the properties of Al/GN-CeO2 composites. The result shows that the functional groups and defects of graphene were added by the treatment of acidification process, which is beneficial to the composite of graphene and CeO2 particles. The quantity of CeO2 deposition on graphene surface increased with the duration of hydrothermal reduction time. After 6 h modification, the properties of the composites performed best. Compared with Al/GN composites, the tensile strength of the modified composites was increased from 284 MPa to 321 MPa; and the tensile strain rate of the modified composites was increased to 12.3%；the hardness of the modified composites was increased from 97.1 Hv to 99.5 Hv；the conductivity of the modified composites was increased from 29.84%IACS to 33.21%IACS.