Influence of nano-BN inclusion and mechanism involved on aluminium-copper alloy

Abstract

Taking advantage of the high specific surface area of the nanoparticles, boron nitride (BN) nanoparticles were incorporated into the semi-solidified aluminium-copper alloy Al–5Cu–Mn (ZL201) system during the casting process, and its properties and enhancement mechanism were studied. The results shown that the BN in the new composite material is more uniformly distributed in the second phase (Al2Cu), which can promote grain refinement and enhance the bonding with the aluminium-based interface, and the formation of stable phases such as AlB2, AlN, CuN, etc. makes the tensile strength and hardness of the material to be significantly improved (8.5%, 10.2%, respectively). The mechanism of the action of BN in Al2Cu was analyzed by establishing an atomic model and after calculation: BN can undergo strong adsorption on the surface of Al2Cu (0 0 1), and the adsorption energy is lower at the bridge sites on the two cut-off surfaces, which makes the binding of BN to the aluminum base more stable. The charge transfer between B, N and each atom of the matrix can promote the formation of strong covalent bonds Al–N, Cu–N and Al–B bonds, which can increase the dislocation density and hinder the grain boundary slip within the alloy.