Graphene and its derivates are extensively applied to enhance the mechanical properties of metal matrix nanocomposites. However, their high reactivity with a metal matrix such as titanium and thus the limited strengthening effects are major problems for achieving high-performance graphene-based nanocomposites. Herein, reduced graphene oxide nanosheets decorated with copper or silver (i.e., Cu@rGO and Ag@rGO) nanopowders are introduced into Ti matrix composites using multiple processes of one-step chemical coreduction, hydrothermal synthesis, low-energy ball milling, spark plasma sintering, and hot rolling. The Cu@rGO/Ti and Ag@rGO/Ti nanocomposites exhibit significantly enhanced strength with superior elongation to fracture (846 MPa-11.6 and 900 MPa-8.4%, respectively, basically reaching the level of the commercial Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy), which are much higher than those of the fabricated Ti (670 MPa-7.0%) and rGO/Ti composites (726 MPa-11.3%). Furthermore, fracture toughness values of the M@rGO/Ti composites are all significantly improved, that is, the highest KIC value is 34.4 MPa·m1/2 for 0.5Cu@rGO/Ti composites, which is 20.28 and 51.5% higher than those of monolithic Ti and 0.5rGO/Ti composites, respectively. The outstanding mechanical properties of Ag@rGO/Ti and Cu@rGO/Ti composites are attributed to the effective load transfer of in situ formed TiC nanoparticles and the formation of interfacial intermetallic compounds between the rGO nanosheets and Ti matrix. This study provides new insights and approach for the fabrication of metal-modified graphene/Ti composites with a high performance.
Keywords: mechanical properties; metal nanoparticles; reduced graphene oxides; strength mechanism; titanium matrix composites.