Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 92 (2011) 485492

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Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis

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Fabrication of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets-reinforced aluminum

composites and evaluating their mechanical properties and corrosion behavior
F.H. Latief a , El-Sayed M. Sherif a,c, , A.A. Almajid a,b , H. Junaedi b
a

Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
c
Electrochemistry and Corrosion Laboratory, Department of Physical Chemistry, National Research Centre (NRC), Dokki 12622, Cairo, Egypt
b

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 3 July 2011
Accepted 3 September 2011
Available online 10 September 2011
Keywords:
Metal matrix composites
Exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets
Mechanical properties
Corrosion behavior
Microstructure, Fracture surface

a b s t r a c t
Aluminum composites with different amounts of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets particles were fabricated by powder metallurgy method. The mixture powders were consolidated at 520 MPa for 5 min and
followed by pressureless sintering at 600 C for 6 h. The mechanical properties of composites were evaluated by compression and hardness tests. The corrosion behavior in 3.5% NaCl solution was investigated
using potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The mechanical testing results showed that the maximum strength and Vickers hardness increase
as a function of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets content. Corrosion data indicated that the presence of
exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets and the increase of its concentration raise the corrosion rate and reduce
the polarization resistance of Al. SEM/EDX investigations revealed that the presence of exfoliated graphite
nanoplatelets activates the corrosion of Al due to the occurrence of galvanic corrosion. SEM/EDX investigations conrmed the electrochemical measurements showing that the increase of exfoliated graphite
nanoplatelets content increases the corrosion of Al.
2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Metal aluminum-based matrix composites (MMCs) are recognized as an outstanding substitute material for obtaining better
mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, thermal conductivity and ductility [14] as opposed to those of the constituent
parts [5,6]. The development of new methods and processing techniques for improving particular material properties of these alloys
has acquired great importance in recent decades [7]. If increased
mechanical properties are desired, very ne particles (<1 m) must
be used for reinforcement [8]. A decrease of the reinforcement
particle size effectuates an increase in the mechanical strength
of the composite [9,10]. The strengthening effect due to the presence of reinforcement particles is the result of elastic interactions
between the particles and matrix dislocations, which hinder dislocation motion. However, the efciency by which reinforcement
particles strengthen the matrix depends on their type, size, morphology, volume fraction and overall distribution [11].
Al-based matrix composites can be prepared by dispersing the
required particles to be composited with Al into the Al matrix by

Corresponding author at: Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh
11421, Saudi Arabia. Tel.: +966 1 4678938; fax: +966 1 4670199.
E-mail addresses: esherif@ksu.edu.sa, emsherif@gmail.com (E.-S.M. Sherif).
0165-2370/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jaap.2011.09.003

using techniques in a solid or liquid state [12]. MMCs can be easily fabricated in the solid state through the powder metallurgy
(PM) techniques. PM offers homogeneity of both composition and
microstructure of the matrix alloy together with more control over
the reinforcement distribution. It requires less energy input than
the conventional ingot metallurgy processes. The basic manufacturing steps in PM include mixing, compacting and sintering of the
powder mixtures consisting of the matrix alloy and the reinforcing particles [1315]. The process of mixing raw materials is an
important rst step since it controls the distribution of particles and
porosity of the composites both of which, inuence the mechanical
and tribological behaviors [16].
One of the obstacles to the use of metalmatrix composites
(MMCs) is the inuence of reinforcement on corrosion resistance.
This is particularly important in aluminum alloy based composites, where a protective oxide lm imparts corrosion resistance.
The addition of a reinforcing phase could lead to further discontinuities in the lm, increasing the number of sites where corrosion
can be initiated and rendering the composite liable to severe attack
[17,18]. The corrosion behavior of the composites in the various environments that the material is likely to encounter is one
important consideration when choosing a suitable material for a
particular purpose.
In the present study, aluminum composites with different
amounts of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets particles (abbreviated as xGnP) were fabricated by PM method [1924]. The effect

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Fig. 1. Particle size distribution of (a) as-received Al powder and (b) exfoliated
graphite nanoplatelets.

of xGnP contents on mechanical properties and corrosion behavior

of aluminum was also reported. The study was carried out using
the compression test, hardness and electrochemical techniques.
Further, the phase structure, microstructure, fracture surface and
elemental chemical composition were determined by X-ray diffraction, optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
equipped with energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (EDX) analysis.
2. Materials and experimental procedure

Fig. 2. SEM micrographs of (a) Al powder and (b) exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets.

2.1. Materials
Aluminum powder with purity of 99% used in this study was
supplied by Riedel-De Haen Ag Seelze-Hannover, Germany. The
particle size distribution of Al powder and xGnP particle was
measured by particle size analyzer as described in Fig. 1. After measurement, the median particle size of as-received Al powder was
20 m as shown in Fig. 1a. The xGnP particles that act as reinforcement were supplied by Asbury Graphite Mills, USA, with type of
Asbury 3772 and have median particle size of 7.5 m as shown in
Fig. 1b. The morphology of Al powder and xGnP particle is depicted
in Fig. 2. The thickness of xGnP particles was determined from the
SEM micrograph to be circa 5 nm as described in Fig. 2b. Acetone
was then used to disperse the xGnP particles prior to adding the Al
powder.
2.2. Fabrication of composites
First, the xGnP particles were dispersed in acetone by means of
ultrasonic with the frequency of 50 kHz for 1 h. The Al powder was
then added into the solution with various contents of xGnP, namely
1, 2 and 3% by weight. The mixture was sonicated for 5 h to obtain
a homogenous state. The mixtures were then ltered and dried at
90 C for overnight to form a dried mixture powder, which was
pressed at condition of 520 MPa for 5 min to produce a disc-shaped
specimen with the ratio of 1:1 between diameter and height. The

disc specimens were subsequently sintered at 600 C for 6 h in the

mufe furnace. The prepared composites were observed by a computer controlled optical microscope to clarify the distribution of
xGnP particles within aluminum.

2.3. X-ray diffraction, density, compression, and hardness

measurements
The phase of sintered composites was identied using a Philips
automatic X-ray diffractometer with Cu target K radiation. The
experimental density was measured according to the Archimedes
principle (Bouyancy method), using a balance with an accuracy
of 0.1 mg. Meanwhile, the theoretical density of composites was
measured by the rule of mixture using the theoretical density of
2.7 g/cm3 for Al powder and nearly to 2.0 g/cm3 for xGnP particles.
Compression test was carried out under room temperature using
an Instron Universal Testing Machine (Model 8502) with a strain
rate of 103 s1 . Three compressive specimens were tested for each
composition. The hardness of composites was tested by a Vickers
hardness indenter under a load of 100 g and a dwell time of 15 s.
The measurement was performed 7 times from random locations
on the central region of polished cross-section and then they were
averaged.

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487

Fig. 3. Optical microstructures of (a) pure Al (b) Al1 wt% xGnP (c) Al2 wt% xGnP and (d) Al3 wt% xGnP composites after sintering at 600 C for 6 h.

2.4. Corrosion tests

Corrosion measurements were performed for Al and AlxGnP
composites in 3.5% sodium chloride (NaCl, Merck, 99%) solutions.
An electrochemical cell with a three-electrode conguration was
used for electrochemical measurements. An Al electrode (either
pure or containing different contents of xGnP) was used as a working electrode. A platinum foil and a Metrohm Ag/AgCl electrode (in
3 M KCl) were used as counter and reference electrodes, respectively. Prior to measurements, the sintered disc specimens were
mechanically polished up to 800 grits by emery paper and then
cleaned with deionized water followed by cleaning with methanol
and nally dried. The diameter of the working electrode was 1.2 cm
with a total exposed surface area of 1.1304 cm2 .
Electrochemical experiments were performed by using an Autolab Potentiostat (PGSTAT20 computer controlled) operated by the
general purpose electrochemical software (GPES) version 4.9. The
potentiodynamic polarization curves were obtained by scanning
the potential from 1800 to 500 mV against Ag/AgCl at a scan rate
of 3.0 mV/s. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests
were performed at an open-circuit potential over a frequency range
of 100 kHz100 MHz, with an AC wave of 5 mV peak-to-peak overlaid on a DC bias potential, and the impedance data were collected
using Powersine software at a rate of 10 points per decade change
in frequency.
2.5. SEM observation and EDX analysis
The SEM observation and EDX analysis were conducted for the
surface of pure Al and AlxGnP composites after their immersion in
3.5% NaCl solutions for 3 days. The SEM images were carried out by
using a JEOL (model JSM-6610LV) scanning electron microscope
equipped by an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. The fracture
surface of pure Al and Al composites after compression test was
investigated as well.

Fig. 4. XRD pattern of pure Al and Al composites.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Microstructure, X-ray diffraction, density, compressive
strength, and hardness data
The optical microstructure of the sintered composites is shown
in Fig. 3. Microstructure of pure Al presents a good chemical bonding among the Al particles where the Al particles coalesce to
produce a solid structure as well as the grain size was clearly seen
in Fig. 3a. In general, the xGnP particles were uniformly distributed
within Al as a host as shown in Fig. 3bd. Moreover, the Al powder
and xGnP particles were united to create a good chemical bonding among them under sintering process but still some large xGnP
particles are still not embedded into the composites.
Fig. 4 represents the X-ray diffraction pattern of composites.
It is seen from Fig. 4 that pure Al reveals four strong peaks. The
addition of xGnP induces a new peak which is referred to the

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Table 1
Theoretical and experimental densities of pure Al and AlxGnP composites.
Materials

Pure Al
Al1 wt% xGnP
Al2 wt% xGnP
Al3 wt% xGnP

Theoretical
density (g/cm3 )

2.70
2.695
2.688
2.682

Measured density (g/cm3 )

Compacted

Sintered

2.696
2.689
2.679
2.666

2.687
2.623
2.576
2.524

Fig. 7. Potentiodynamic polarization for (1) pure Al, (2) Al1 wt% xGnP, (3) Al2 wt%
xGnP, and (4) Al3 wt% xGnP composites after 1 h immersion in 3.5% NaCl solution.

Fig. 5. Compressive strength of pure Al and Al composites as a function of xGnP

content.

Fig. 8. (a) Typical Nyquist plots for Al (1), Al1% xGnP (2), Al2% xGnP (3), and Al3%
xGnP (4) after 1 h immersion in 3.5% NaCl solutions; and (b) equivalent circuit model
used to t the experimental data presented in (a).
Fig. 6. Vickers hardness of pure Al and Al composites as a function of xGnP content.

presence of xGnP itself in all composites. The xGnP peak was

present at 2 = 26.5 for all composites. The different content of
xGnP particles could be recognized from the intensity of xGnP peaks
which increases with increasing the xGnP content.
The density values of composites are presented in Table 1. Concisely, the densities of composites decreased with increasing the
content of xGnP particles. The difference between theoretical and
sintered density of composites is apparent. The relatively high sintering temperature may ease the diffusion of atoms which results
in better sinterability of composites. On the other hand, the sintering process resulted in the dimensional changes of composites
due to shrinkage, which impacts on the density of composites. One
more thing should be considered is that the density of xGnP particle is smaller than that of pure Al. Consequently, the addition of
xGnP particles into Al powder reduces the density of composites.
Increasing the amount of xGnP particles causes the decrease of the
composites density.
Fig. 5 depicts the variations of the compressive strength of Al
and its composites as a function of the xGnP content. The recorded

results show that the addition of xGnP particles from 1 to 3 wt%

into pure Al increases the compressive strength of the composites.
It can be explained by the following equation [25]:
=

4 (1 f )r
3f

(1)

where,  is the distance between the reinforcement particles, f is

the volume fraction of xGnP particles and r is the xGnP particle
radius, assuming that the xGnP particle is spherical. According to
Eq. (1), increasing the amount of xGnP particle leads to a decrease
in the distance between the xGnP particles since its median radius
is about 3.75 m. Lowering the distance between the xGnP particles according to Eq. (2) will increase the required tension for
dislocations movement between the xGnP particles leading to an
increment in materials strength.
0 =

Gb


(2)

Here,  0 is shear stress; G is shear module; b is Burgers vector and

 is distance between particles [25]. Based on Eqs. (1) and (2), it
could be understood that the decrease in the distance between

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489

Fig. 9. SEM micrographs of (a) pure Al, (b) Al1 wt% xGnP (c) Al2 wt% xGnP (d) Al3 wt% xGnP composites after 3 days immersion in 3.5% NaCl solution; (eh) represent the
corresponding EDX prole analysis of the surface shown in the micrographs.

particles would increase the shear stress of dislocations and as a

consequence, the composite strength would be increased [26,27].
In this case, the xGnP particles act as obstacles that can prevent
the movement of dislocations in pure Al matrix through dispersion
strengthening mechanism [25].
The hardness of composites was evaluated by Vickers method.
The comparison of composites hardness before and after sintering
process is presented in Fig. 6. It is seen from Fig. 6 that increasing the amount of xGnP particles greatly increases the composites
hardness to be much higher than that of pure Al. It can be also estimated by using the law of mixture that with increasing the xGnP
content, the hardness of composites would be higher [25]. It is well
known that by incorporating reinforcement with a ne particle size

will increase the hardness of the composite where the interfacial

area between pure Al and xGnP particles is larger since xGnP has a
high specic surface area.
3.2. Corrosion behavior of Al and AlxGnP composites
To study the effect of xGnP content as well as the different
immersion time on corrosion behavior of pure Al, potentiodynamic
polarization experiments were carried out after 1 h and 3 days of
the electrode immersion in the test solution prior to measurement.
The polarization curves for Al (1), Al1% xGnP (2), Al2% xGnP
(3), and Al3%xGnP (4) after 1 h immersion in 3.5% NaCl solutions
are shown in Fig. 7. It is well known that the anodic reaction of

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Fig. 10. SEM fracture surfaces of (a) pure Al, (b) Al1 wt% xGnP, (c) Al2 wt% xGnP, and (d) Al3 wt% xGnP composites.

pure Al (curve 1) started from the corrosion potential that was

recorded at a more negative value of 1180 mV, followed by a passive region at an average current density of 124 A cm2 , extending
from 1100 to 710 mV. At this condition, the passive region contains aluminum oxide that was formed on the surface according to
the following reaction:
Al(s) + 3OH = Al(OH)3,ads + 3e

(3)

This aluminum hydroxide, Al(OH)3 , is transformed into

Al2 O3 3H2 O as follows:
2Al(OH)3,ads = Al2 O3 3H2 O

(4)

The electrons produced from the anode will be consumed by

the cathodic reaction, which is the oxygen reduction followed by
its adsorption [5,6], i.e.
1
O2 + H2 O(S) + e = OHads. + OH
2

(5)

and
OHads. + e = OH

(6)

The observed abrupt increase in the current values after increasing the applied potential was due to the dissolution of the
aluminum oxide, Eq. (4), which has a dual nature as it consists of an
adherent, compact and stable inner lm covered with a porous, less
stable outer layer, which is more susceptible to corrosion [28,29].
The presence of chloride ions at this high concentration led to the
breakdown of the oxide lm and occurrence of pitting corrosion as
following reactions [30,31]:
Al = Al3+ + 3e

(7)

and
Al3+ + 4Cl = AlCl4

(8)

The values of the corrosion potential (ECorr ), corrosion current

(jCorr ), cathodic Tafel slope (c ), anodic Tafel slope (a ), passivation
current (jPass ), pitting potential (EPit ), pitting current (jPit ), polarization resistance (RP ), and corrosion rate (KCorr ) obtained from Fig. 7
for pure Al and Al-composites are shown in Table 2.
The values of the corrosion parameters were computed from the
polarization data as reported in our previous studies [3038]. It is
clearly seen from Fig. 7 and Table 2 that the presence of xGnP and
the increase of its content within Al shifted c and ECorr to more
negative values, increased the values of jCorr , jPass , and KCorr , and
decreased the values of RP , which indicates the activation of Al by
xGnP and this effect increases with increasing the xGnP content.
The higher corrosion rate of Al-composites than that of pure aluminum is likely due to the xGnP particles being cathodic relative to
the matrix thus leading to galvanic corrosion in the presence of an
electrolyte.
The EIS Nyquist plots for Al (1), Al1% xGnP (2), Al2% xGnP (3),
and Al3% xGnP (4) after 1 h immersion in 3.5% NaCl solutions are
shown in Fig. 8a. These data were analysed by tting to the equivalent circuit model shown in Fig. 8b; the parameters obtained by
tting the equivalent circuit are listed in Table 3. The symbols of this
circuit can be dened as, RS the solution resistance between the
working (Al and AlxGnP composites) electrode and the counter
(platinum) electrode, Cdl the double layer capacitance, Rp1 the
polarization resistance for the charge transfer through the lm (aluminum oxide and/or corrosion products), Q the constant phase
elements (CPEs) and contain two parameters: a pseudo capacitance and an exponent (an exponent of less than unity indicates
a dispersion of capacitor effects [30,31]), Rp2 another polarization
resistance at the lm/electrolyte interface and can be dened also
as the charge transfer resistance, and W the Warburg impedance.
The plots of Fig. 8a and the parameters in Table 3 conrm that
the values of RS , Rp1 and Rp2 , decrease with the increase of xGnP

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491

Table 2
Corrosion parameters obtained from polarization curves shown in Fig. 7.
Specimen

Pure Al
Al1%xGnP
Al2%xGnP
Al3%xGnP

Parameters
c (mV dec1 )

ECorr (mV)

jCorr (A cm2 )

a (mV dec1 )

jPass (A cm2 )

EPit (mV)

jPit (A cm2 )

147
142
137
130

1170
1257
1266
1294

31
68
94
169

175
165
163
157

123
154
253
479

670
675
685
690

180
190
280
540

RP ( cm2 )
1120
488
344
183

KCorr (mm y1 )
0.34
0.74
1.03
1.84

Table 3
Impedance data obtained by tting the Nyquist plots shown in Fig. 8a with the equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 8b for the Al and Al-composites in sodium chloride solutions.
Specimen

Parameters
Cdl (F cm2 )

RS ( cm2 )

Pure Al
Al1% xGnP
Al2% xGnP
Al3% xGnP

6.56
6.24
5.98
5.65

Rp1 ( cm2 )

6.51
14.9
19.6
22.7

128.8
89.33
63.21
48.17

Table 4
Concentration (at.%) prole of pure Al and Al composites after 3 days immersion.
Specimen

Pure Al
Al1% xGnP
Al2% xGnP
Al3% xGnP

Concentration (at.%)
C

Al

Na

Cl

2.21
15.75
29.83
42.59

65.16
36.22
33.79
25.79

32.01
46.91
35.90
31.36

0.20
0.92
0.34

0.32
0.20
0.14
0.26

content in the aluminum composite. The semicircles at high frequencies in Fig. 8a are generally associated with the relaxation of
electrical double layer capacitors and the diameters of the high
frequency semicircles can be considered as the charge transfer
resistance [39,40]. The increase in the double layer capacitance
(Cdl ) upon the increase in xGnP content due to the enhanced access
of charged species to the surface suggests that the mass transport
increases and so dissolution of Al increases. The constant phase elements (CPEs, Q) represent double layer capacitors with some pores;
the CPEs increase and their n values decrease in the presence of
xGnP and upon increase in its concentration, which indicates the
increased dissolution of Al. The EIS data thus are in good agreement
with those obtained by potentiodynamic polarization that the presence of xGnP and the increase in its content activate the corrosion
of Al.

Q
YQ (F cm2 )

09.77
16.08
31.94
54.81

0.80
0.80
0.65
0.55

Rp2 ( cm2 )

W (1 cm2 )

1265
1036
808
657

7 105
8 105
9 105
9.5 105

test solution. Composite containing 3 wt% xGnP had the lowest concentration of Al. This reveals that a selective dissolution of Al takes
place inside the pits due to the occurrence of galvanic corrosion
[41]. It has been reported [42,43] that pits develop at sites where
the adsorbed oxygen on the surface of the composites is displaced
by Cl- ions from the solution. This is because Cl- ions have very
small diameters that allow it to penetrate through the protective
oxide lm and displace oxygen at the sites where metaloxygen
bond is the weakest.

3.4. Fracture surface

Fig. 10 shows a typical micrograph of the fracture surface of
pure Al and Al composites. The dark regions shown in Fig. 10a represent the pores or voids, which were left behind from the surface
during the polishing process. These pores or voids are responsible
for the crack initiation that will surely reduce the strength of the
material. In general, the xGnP particles are distributed uniformly
within the Al matrix as seen in Fig. 10bd. This uniform distribution of the second phase within the matrix is a characteristic of
the in situ powder metallurgy method [14] and it improves the
mechanical properties of composites. But few xGnP clusters were
found in the Fig. 10d due to detachment of xGnP particles from the
Al matrix.

3.3. SEM and EDX analysis

4. Conclusion
The SEM micrographs of pure Al and Al composites associated
with EDX analysis after 3 days immersion in 3.5% NaCl are shown
in Fig. 9. The surface of pure Al, Al1 wt% xGnP and Al2 wt% xGnP
were fully covered by corrosion product that was passive oxide
lm (Al2 O3 ) and the pits did not appear on the surface of specimens as demonstrated in Fig. 9ac. On the other hand, the pits
were obviously seen in Al3 wt% xGnP composite and some of
the areas were still covered by the corrosion product as shown in
Fig. 9d.
The concentration of elements found on the surface of pure Al
and Al-composites after 3 days immersion is given in Table 4. Pure
Al specimen has the highest concentration of Al and high concentration of O, which indicates that the passive oxide lm, Al2 O3 ,
was formed on the surface after immersion. The concentration of
C increased, while Al decreased with increasing the xGnP content.
The low concentration of Na and Cl conrms that NaCl salt was
deposited on the surface of specimens during immersion in the

Exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets-reinforced aluminum composites were fabricated and characterized using different mechanical and corrosion techniques. The density, compressive strength
and hardness of composites indicated that the addition of ne
xGnP reinforcement particles is an effective way to improve the
mechanical properties of the composites. Polarization and impendence measurements showed that the presence of xGnP and the
increase of its content activated the dissolution of the Al composite. This is due to the increased corrosion current and corrosion
rate as well as the decreased surface and polarization resistances.
SEM images taken on the surface of pure Al and Al3 wt% xGnP
conrmed that the corrosion is more severe for AlxGnP composites. EDX prole analysis proved that the AlxGnP composites suffer
more corrosion than pure Al due to the selective dissolution of Al
from the composite and consequently the occurrence of galvanic
corrosion.

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F.H. Latief et al. / Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 92 (2011) 485492

Acknowledgements
The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientic Research at KSU for funding the work through the research
group project no. RGP-VPP-160.
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