Interface Design Strategy for GNS/AZ91 Composites with Semi-Coherent Structure

doi:10.1007/s40195-023-01560-5

Abstract

Abstract:

The interfacial structure plays an important role in the mechanical properties of magnesium matrix composite (MMCs) reinforced with graphene nanosheet (GNS) due to their poor wettability with the Mg matrix. An interface design strategy was proposed to form the semi-coherent interfacial structure with superior bonding strength. The lattice mismatch and interfacial bonding strength between Mg/rare earth oxide/carbon were utilized as key characteristics to evaluate the interfacial structure. Lanthanum oxide (La₂O₃) was selected as the intermediate candidate due to its low lattice mismatch and high interfacial bonding strength. To identify the interfacial structure of Mg/La₂O₃/graphene, first-principles calculations were conducted to calculate the ideal work of separation and electronic structure of the interfaces. Results demonstrated the presence of strong ionic and covalent interactions at the interface, which theoretically verified the strong interfacial bonding strength among Mg/La₂O₃/graphene interfaces. To experimentally validate the interface strength, MMCs with the interface structure of Mg/La₂O₃/GNS were developed. The formation of in-situ La₂O₃ led to the successful attainment of semi-coherent structures between Mg/La₂O₃ and La₂O₃/GNS, resulting in high strength and good ductility of the composite. Overall, this work proposes a new approach to interface design in MMCs with an enhancement of mechanical properties.

Key words: Interface design strategy, Magnesium matrix composite, Graphene nanosheets, Semi-coherent interface, Mechanical properties

Jing-Peng Xiong, Yi-Qi Zeng, Jin-Long Liu, Wei-Cheng Wang, Lan Luo, Yong Liu. Interface Design Strategy for GNS/AZ91 Composites with Semi-Coherent Structure[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2024, 37(3): 467-483.

Figures/Tables 15

Fig. 1 Lattice misfit δ of Mg/intermediates and intermediates/carbon interfaces

Fig. 2 Atomic structures of Mg(0001)/La2O3(0001) and Mg(0001)/GR interfaces with different terminations and coordination types: a the La-terminated, b the O1-terminated, c the O2-terminated

Table 1 Work of separation (Wsep) predicted by the full relaxation calculations

Interface structure	Termination and coordination type	W_sep (J/m²)
La₂O₃(0001)/Mg(0001)	La-HB	0.406
	La-TB	0.401
	O1-H	3.895
	O1-TB	3.958
	O2-HB	6.873
	O2-TB	9.462
La₂O₃(0001)/GR(0001)	La-B	2.786
	La-TH	6.322
	O1-B	4.196
	O1-TH	5.728
	O2-B	10.883
	O2-TH	10.898

Fig. 3 Comparison of the interfacial work of separation between MgO and La2O3 intermediate in improving Mg/GR interface

Fig. 4 Total charge density contours of a the Mg(0001)/La2O3(0001) (O2-TB) and b the La2O3(0001)/GR(O2-TH). The differential charge density distributions of c the Mg(0001)/La2O3(0001) (O2-TB) and d the La2O3(0001)/GR (O2-TH). The dashed lines denote the locations of the interfaces

Fig. 5 Partial density of states of a the Mg(0001)/La2O3(0001) (O2-TB), b the La2O3(0001)/GR(O2-TH) interface

Fig. 6 a TEM image, b Raman spectra, c XPS survey spectra, d high-ressolution XPS of C 1 s spectra of GO

Fig. 7 OM images of a A0, b S1, and c S2 with the grain sizes distribution shown inset, respectively. SEM-SE images and EDS analysis of d A0, e S1, and f S2. The characterized planes of the sample were shown on the left side of each group figure

Fig. 8 XRD patterns of AZ91 alloy and its composites. The smaller images above are the enlarged XRD patterns of regions 1, 2, and 3, respectively

Fig. 9 In-situ reaction process in S2. a Schematic diagram of the reaction process between La and GO, b Gibbs free energy (ΔG) of the reactions

Figure 10d a Low magnification TEM of the S2 for a large GNS (white solid-line arrows) and nanoparticles (red dashed arrow) captured, the inset shows SAED in the white dashed-box area. b HRTEM image of the white solid-line box area in a, white dashed-lines indicate the interfaces of GNS and Mg matrix, and red dashed lines indicate the interfaces of La2O3 and Mg matrix. The insets show the enlarged view of specified areas. c, e Corresponding FFT patterns of the white and red solid-line box area in b, respectively. d, f IFFT images of the La2O3/α-Mg interface and La2O3/GNS interface, respectively. The insets in d show the FFT patterns of α-Mg (top) and La2O3 (bottom)

Fig. 11 TEM micrographs of the Mg/La2O3 interface: a high magnification image of the area near GNS. b enlarged view of the white solid-line box area in a, the inset shows that the corresponding Moiré periodicity was measured to be 1.069 nm. c corresponding FFT pattern of b. d IFFT patterns of c using the reflection pairs marked with red circles (upper) and with blue circles (bottom) selected in corresponding FFT patterns

Table 2 Summary of calculated lattice parameters from the analysis of TEM images

	GNS		La₂O₃		Mg		Angle (°)	δ (%)	Interface coherency
	(hkl)	d-spacing (nm)	(uvtw)	d-spacing (nm)	(uvtw)	d-spacing (nm)	Angle (°)	δ (%)	Interface coherency
Figure 10a	-	-	-	-	0002	0.2539	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	11$\overline{2 }$0	0.1619	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	11$\overline{2 }$2	0.1357	-	-	-
Figure 10b	101	0.2041	-	-	10$1$2	0.1921	40.5	-	-
Figure 10d	-	-	10$\overline{1 }$0	0.3422	10$\overline{1 }$1	0.2436	15.3	40.4	Low
	-	-	0003	0.2041	0002	0.2599	0	21.4	Intermediate
	-	-	10$\overline{1 }$3	0.1759	10$\overline{1 }$3	0.1452	32.6	21.1	Intermediate
Figure 10e	100	0.2146	01$\overline{1 }$2	0.2253	-	-	0	4.9	Intermediate
	002	0.4391	10$\overline{1 }$1	0.2121	-	-	55.1	51.7	Low
	102	0.1912	11$\overline{2 }$1	0.1828	-	-	40.8	4.3	Intermediate
Figure 11d	-	-	01$\overline{1 }$1	0.2959	10$\overline{1 }$1	0.2480	11.0	19.3	Intermediate

Fig. 12 Tensile properties and the corresponding fracture appearance: a engineering stress-strain curves of AZ91 alloy and its composites at room temperature, the inset shows the detailed dimensions of the tensile samples. b comparison of ultimate tensile strength and ductility of MMCs with AZ91 alloy as the matrix, all data are optimal values given in the references. c, d fracture appearance of S1 and S2 samples, respectively. The inset images in each figure are corresponding high-magnification images. The green dotted arrows in the figures refer to the dimples

Table 3 Mechanical properties of the developed MMCs

Materials	YS (MPa)	UTS (MPa)	Elongation (%)	Enhancement (%)
Materials	YS (MPa)	UTS (MPa)	Elongation (%)	YS	UTS	Elongation
A₀	209 ± 1.3	291 ± 2.1	6.98 ± 0.32	-	-	-
S₁	309 ± 1.5	346 ± 2.8	3.41 ± 0.29	47.8	18.9	-51.1
S₂	280 ± 0.9	373 ± 1.1	8.25 ± 0.11	33.9	28.2	18.2

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