Effect of Mg addition on mechanical and thermoelectrical properties of Al–Al2O3 nanocomposite

The effects of Mg addition on mechanical thermo-electrical properties of Al–Mg/5%Al2O3 nanocomposite with different Mg contents (0, 5%, 10% and 20%) produced by mechanical alloying were studied. Scanning electron microscopy analysis (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the produced powder. The results show that addition of Mg forms a predominant phase (Al–Mg solid solution). By increasing the mass fraction of Mg, the crystallite size decreases and the lattice strain increases which results from the atomic penetration of Mg atoms into the substitutional sites of Al lattice. The microhardness of the composite increases with the increase of the Mg content. The thermal and electrical conductivities increase linearly with the temperature increase in the inspected temperature range. Moreover, the thermal conductivity increases with the increase of Mg content.