Mechanical strength of carbon nanotube/nickel nanocomposite

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted broad attentions for developing innovative nanocomposites due to their exceptional properties. However, the success of developing nanocomposites is largely dependent on material processing. Authors' group has developed an innovative electrochemical co-deposition form synthesis of CNT reinforced metallic (Ni). Results indicate that the yield and ultimate strength of the as-deposited pure nickel are found to be about 350MPa and 625MPa, respectively, which are comparable to the reported data. However, it demonstrates that the yield strength and ultimate strength of Ni/MWCNT composite are about 1,290MPa and 1,700MPa, respectively. In other word, the ultimate strength of Ni/MWCNT nanocomposite is about 270% higher than that of pure nickel. Authors believe the largely increased mechanical strength of Ni/CNT nanocomposite is attributed to the novel fabrication that high temperature associated degradation problems in metallic composite processing such as diffusion, chemical reaction and mismatch of coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) are eliminated.