Aluminum nanocomposites reinforced with monolayer polyaniline (C3N): assessing the mechanical and ballistic properties

Abstract

This study unveils C₃N, a new material that serves as an excellent reinforcement to enhance the mechanical properties of aluminum using a molecular dynamics simulation method. Results show that the C₃N nanosheets greatly improve the mechanical properties of aluminum-based nanocomposites. With only 1.3 wt% C₃N, the Young's modulus, fracture strength, and fracture strain increased by 27, 70, and 51 percent, respectively. A comparison between the reinforcement of graphene and C₃N in an aluminum (Al) matrix shows that in terms of the mechanical properties, the graphene–aluminum composite is weaker than the C₃N–aluminum composite in the tensile tests, but slightly stronger in the energy adsorption tests. Our findings show that the mechanical properties are highly dependent on the strain rate and temperature. The effects of various imperfections, such as the vacancy, crack, and void defects, on the mechanical properties were also studied. Results show that in the presence of void defects, the structure exhibited higher mechanical properties than when there were other defects. This phenomenon was found to be related to the decrease in the effective load transfer from aluminum to C₃N. Furthermore, by increasing the weight percent of the nanosheets up to 5%, the energy absorption rate increased by 25% compared to the pure aluminum. When C₃N was placed on top of the aluminum surface, the silicon nanoparticles were associated with a 35% energy adsorption by the nanocomposite. The results of this paper could be used to help understand and overcome some limitations in the fabrication of metallic nanocomposites with 2D material reinforcement.