Graphene, which has been studied since 2004, has been widely used in metal-based composites as a very hard reinforcing phase due to its excellent properties. In addition to high strength and high conductivity, graphene reinforced aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) have proved to be lighter, cheaper and better than Cu matrix composites and various aluminum alloys in automotive and aerospace fields.
However, there are still some problems for practical application. Low wettability and dispersibility that have been a challenge for graphene-reinforced metal-matrix composites are also present in aluminum/graphene composites. It means poor interfacial adhesion between graphene and aluminum. Therefore, higher adhesion of the Al/graphene (Al/G) interface is essential to improve the properties of Al-based composites.
Since the surface lattice parameters of copper or nickel are less different from those of graphene than those of aluminum, pre-coating of these metals improves the bonding properties.
Taking it into consideration, Jon Sin Hyok, a researcher at the Faculty of Material Science and Technology, conducted a first-principles study of the interfacial bonding, mechanical strength and electronic properties of copper-doped graphene-Al (Al/Cu/G) composites using several superlattice models with different graphene contents.
The calculation results show that weak chemical bonding due to orbital hybridization between the coated copper and graphene layers is formed, and that the bonding is relatively strong compared to the bonding between Al and graphene layers without Cu, and the bond strength decreases gradually with increasing graphene content.
You can find the details in his paper “First Principle Study on Mechanical and Electronic Properties of Cu Doped Graphene Reinforced Al Composite” in “Proceedings of KUTIC-2025”.