Effects of rare earth oxide La₂O₃ on microstructure and properties of Al₂O₃/Al composites

Abstract

was processed by a powder metallurgy process, and the effects of the addition of rare earth La 2 O 3 on the microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and universal properties tests. The refinement mechanism of the rare earth oxide was investigated as well. It has found that the addition of La 2 O 3 increased the density of the sintered Al 2 O 3 /Al composite and the matrix grains were significantly refined. The addition of La 2 O 3 showed a remarkable improvement on the compression strength, which was up to more than 150% higher than that of materials not doped with rare earth oxides.

Interfacial Microstructure in W/2024Al Composite and Inhibition of W-Al Direct Reaction by CeO2 Doping: Formation and Crystallization of Al-Ce-Cu-W Amorphous Layers

“…Up to date, there have been several research studies devoted to the microstructures and properties of PRAMC with doping of rare earth oxides [8,9,10,11,12]. However, the question, does doping of rare earth oxides have an influence on interfacial reactions has not been discussed in detail in this research.…”

Structural and mechanical properties of CeO2 reinforced Al matrix nanocomposites

“…Rare earth oxides are natural choices as the addition of rare earth elements (REEs) as reinforcement elements enhances various properties of aluminum. Adding a small amount of rare earth to the Al metal matrix can greatly improve the performance of the Al matrix properties [9]. Though, the rare earth elements posses some toxic characteristics but using them in nano-length scale is feasible as they can be used in lower amounts to gain the improvement in properties (typically < 2% by volume).…”