Aligning graphene in bulk copper: Nacre-inspired nanolaminated architecture coupled with in-situ processing for enhanced mechanical properties and high electrical conductivity

Cao, Mu; Xiong, Ding‐Bang; Tan, Zhanqiu; Ji, Gang; Amin-Ahmadi, Behnam; Guo, Qiang; Fan, Genlian; Guo, Cheng; Li, Zhi Qiang; Zhang, Di

doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2017.02.089

Cited by 258 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…However, these rather sophisticated methods make the transfer of any molecular‐level, superior carrier transport properties to macroscopic bulk materials difficult. Not surprisingly, the electrical conductivity of most reported graphene (or graphene derivative)‐reinforced metal matrix composites does not surpass that of the pure metal matrices . In this work, we demonstrate that graphene sheets deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and embedded inside metal matrices (Cu, Ag, and Al) can provide local, ultrahigh electrical conductivity inside the composite material that is up to three orders of magnitude higher than that of most conductive pure metals at room temperature, showing a remarkable potential for enhancing the electrical conductivity of metals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrahigh Electrical Conductivity of Graphene Embedded in Metals

Cao

Xiong

Yang

et al. 2019

Adv Funct Materials

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174

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Highly efficient conductors are strongly desired because they can lead to higher working performance and less energy consumption in their wide range applications. However, the improvements on the electrical conductivities of conventional conductors are limited, such as purification and growing single crystal of metals. Here, by embedding graphene in metals (Cu, Al, and Ag), the trade-off between carrier mobility and carrier density is surmount in graphene, and realize high electron mobility and high electron density simultaneously through elaborate interface design and morphology control. As a result, a maximum electrical conductivity three orders of magnitude higher than the highest on record (more than 3,000 times higher than that of Cu) is obtained in such embedded graphene. As a result, using the graphene as reinforcement, an electrical conductivity as high as ≈117% of the International Annealed Copper Standard and significantly higher than that of Ag is achieved in bulk graphene/Cu composites with an extremely low graphene volume fraction of only 0.008%. The results are of significance when enhancing efficiency and saving energy in electrical and electronic applications of metals, and also of interest for fundamental researches on electron behaviors in graphene.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrahigh Electrical Conductivity of Graphene Embedded in Metals

Cao

Xiong

Yang

et al. 2019

Adv Funct Materials

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174

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“…After cooling down, the rGO sheets coat on the surface of the monocrystal Cu core. The contact between rGO and Cu should be dominated by a metallurgical bonding because graphene would not react with Cu even at high temperature under pressure (Cao M. et al, 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rGO/Cu bulk laminated composites were fabricated based on a modified flake powder metallurgy (Cao M. et al, 2017). Atomized pure copper powders (99.99 % purity, with an average particle size of 44 μm) were ballmilled to Cu flakes in pure ethanol in a stainless steel mixing jar.…”

Section: Preparation Of Rgo/cu Bulk Laminated Compositementioning

confidence: 99%

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Uniform Spherical Graphene/Monocrystal-Copper Powder Fabricated by the Low Wettability of Liquid/Solid Interface

Lyu

Xiong

Tan

et al. 2019

KONA

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Uniform spherical graphene/monocrystal-copper powder is fabricated by melting bulk laminated composite. Graphene, in the form of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), is uniformly dispersed on the surface of monocrystal Cu particle. A mechanism is proposed based on liquid/solid interface interaction combining the surface energy minimization of liquid Cu and low wettability of molten Cu on graphene. The rGO/Cu composite powder exhibits good sphericity, and the size distribution could be controlled by the amount of rGO.

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“…Nevertheless, different from the copper matrix, aluminum is a noncatalytic substrate for CVD of graphene, and thus, high‐quality graphene can only be incorporated into an aluminum matrix by external transfer, during which defects and contaminants cannot be avoided and good lattice matching and optimized orientation relationship cannot be guaranteed, in contrast to the CVD process. Additionally, aluminum is chemically active and thus oxides and other impurities are usually included in the composite interface …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Interface Structure on the Electrical Conductivity of Graphene Embedded in Aluminum Matrix

Cao

Luo

Xie

et al. 2019

Adv Materials Inter

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applications to enhance its mechanical strength, but alloying is detrimental for high electrical conductivity because of more electron scattering centers. [3,4] Therefore, achieving electrical conductivity at a level beyond that of pure aluminum in practical applications is a major challenge.Composite fabrication by incorporating ultrahigh conductive reinforcement with a metal matrix is considered a possible approach to improve the electrical conductivity of metals. [5] Graphene has excellent intrinsic electrical properties and is one of the most promising candidates for such purposes. [6,7] An electron mobility (µ) of ≈2.0 × 10 5 cm 2 V −1 s −1 was measured in a suspended graphene with a carrier density (n) of ≈10 12 cm --2 at room temperature, [8,9] exceeding the record of ≈7.7 × 10 4 cm 2 V −1 s −1 reported for InSb. [10] According to the equation σ = enµ (e is the electron charge, ≈1.6021766209 × 10 −19 C), the electrical conductivity (σ) of the graphene is calculated to be 96 × 10 6 S m −1 , [11] which is ≈170% higher than that of aluminum. Therefore, it is possible to improve the electrical conductivity of aluminum by incorporating graphene.However, such improvement is not easy to achieve in practical graphene/aluminum matrix composites. [12,13] The challenges lie in the following factors. First, the forementioned intrinsically high electrical conductivity of a single graphene layer strongly depends on its fabrication method, structural integrity, [14][15][16] intrinsic defects, [17][18][19][20] chemical contamination, [21][22][23][24] and the substrates used to support graphene. [25][26][27][28][29] Second, to exert the intrinsic electrical properties of graphene at macroscopic level (such as in bulk graphene/aluminum matrix composites), fabrication methods have to be developed for achieving homogenous dispersion of graphene in metals without damage and good electrical contact between graphene and metals. Because of these complex prerequisites, the electrical conductivity of almost all the reported graphene/metal matrix composites does not exceed that of the pure matrix. As an exception, Pan et al. [30] reported conductivity enhancement in graphene/copper matrix composites based on highquality graphene. The quality of reduced graphene oxide (GO) was improved by heat treatment at high temperature and high pressure, and then high-quality graphene was incorporated in a copper matrix by a ball-milling process. As a result, an Graphene is considered a promising reinforcement to improve the electrical conductivity of metals because of its excellent intrinsic electrical conductivity. However, graphene/Al matrix composites with enhanced electrical conductivity have not yet been reported. In this work, it is attempted to understand the factors influencing the electrical conductivity of graphene embedded in an Al matrix by adjusting the interfacial structure and composition. By sandwiching graphene (Gr) or graphene oxide (GO) with either pristine or passivated Al foils, three kinds of typical composite interfaces ar...

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Aligning graphene in bulk copper: Nacre-inspired nanolaminated architecture coupled with in-situ processing for enhanced mechanical properties and high electrical conductivity

Cited by 258 publications

References 84 publications

Ultrahigh Electrical Conductivity of Graphene Embedded in Metals

Ultrahigh Electrical Conductivity of Graphene Embedded in Metals

Uniform Spherical Graphene/Monocrystal-Copper Powder Fabricated by the Low Wettability of Liquid/Solid Interface

The Influence of Interface Structure on the Electrical Conductivity of Graphene Embedded in Aluminum Matrix

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