Metallurgical Abstracts on Light Metals and Alloys vol. 58

In-situ synthesis of a novel multiphase reinforced Al-matrix composite prepared from A6061 alloy and a small amount of MXene

Li-Fu Yi^a, Kenta Noguchi^a, Zhilei Wang^b, Peter Benard Oboso^a and Zhong-Chun Chen^a
^a Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University, Koyama-minami 4-101, Tottori 680-8552, Japan
^b Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

[Published in Vacuum, Vol. 234 (2025), 114133]

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2025.114133
E-mail: * yili[at]tottori-u.ac.jp
** chen[at]tottori-u.ac.jp
Key Words: Multiphase reinforced Al matrix composite; Microstructure; Mechanical properties; T6 treatment

A novel in-situ multiphase reinforced Al matrix composite (AMC) was synthesized by combining spark plasma sintering (SPS), hot extrusion, and subsequent T6 treatment using A6061 alloy and a small amount of MXene as the starting materials. Although the MXene was randomly distributed in the as-SPSed composite, it was preferentially oriented along the extrusion direction after extrusion. During T6 treatment, the MXene was decomposed into Ti and C, and its oxygen-containing functional groups reacted with Mg in the A6061 to form MgO. The reinforcing phases including MgO, Mg₂Si, TiC and Q′ were uniformly distributed in the Al alloy matrix. The hardness, yield strength, and ultimate tensile strength of the peak-aged AMC were 115 HV, 329 MPa, and 355 MPa, respectively, which are 10.9%, 12.7%, and 6.6% higher than those of the peak-aged unreinforced A6061 alloy. This work provides new insights for designing in-situ multiphase reinforced AMC with excellent mechanical performance.

(a) Vickers hardness of unreinforced A6061 and in-situ AMC as a function of aging time and (b) nominal stress-strain curves of the peak-aged A6061 and in-situ AMC.