SUPERALIGNED CARBON NANOTUBES REINFORCED COPPER NANOCOMPOSITES WITH ENHANCED STRENGTH AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

摘要

A new kind of laminar metal matrix nanocomposite was fabricated by an electroplating process with copper and superaligned film of carbon nanotubes (SACNT film). We put the SACNT film on a titanium plate and then electroplated a layer of copper on it. By repeating the above process, we could get the laminar Cu/SACNT composite which contains dozens or hundreds layers of copper and SACNT films. The thickness of a single layer could be controlled by the electroplating parameter easily. Microscopic observation showed that the directional alignment structure of SACNT has been retained in the composite perfectly. Mechanical and electrical properties testing results showed that tensile and yield strengths of composites improve obviously compared to pure copper and retain the high conductivity. This technology is a potential method to make applicable MMC which characterizes directional alignment of carbon nanotubes.