Preparation of graphene/Al composites with a lamellar structure by silane cross-linking graphene oxide
Bohan Wang, Jiaming Liu, Shipeng Yue, Xianlong Wang, Yubo Zhang, Ying Fu, Tingju Li, Tongmin Wang
Abstract
In this study, the silane coupling agent 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) was used to cross-link graphene oxide (GO) to large-sized films, and further to prepare nacre-like structure graphene/aluminum (Al) composites. The results show that APS was successfully grafted onto the GO, forming large continuous GO films , which were then attached to the surface of the Al flakes by semi-powder metallurgy. After hot pressing, the graphene/Al composites had a lamellar structure consisted of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and Al. In addition, the interface was well bonded without defects and Al 4 C 3 phase. Compared with the pure Al prepared under the same condition, the compressive strength , maximum compression ratio and hardness of the 0.15 wt.% graphene/Al composites increased by 58%, 23% and 64.8%, respectively. The approach of cross-linking GO through chemical modification can be applied to the design of other bioinspired materials .