Effect of potential difference between nano-Al_(2)O_(3)whisker and Mg matrix on the dispersion of Mg composites

The potential difference between positive and negative ions was utilized to improve the homogenized dispersion of nanoscale Al_(2)O_(3) whiskers in Mg matrix composites.The Mg powders were decorated with sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate(C_(18)H_(29)NaO_(3)S,SDBS)and were introduced to the cathode group on their surface.The Al_(2)O_(3) whiskers were modified by the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide(C_(19)H_(42)BrN,CTAB)and were featured in the anode group.The suitable contents of CTAB and SDBS,the application atmosphere,and the type of solvents were investigated.Dispersion results showed that adding 2wt%SDBS into Mg powders and adding 2wt%CTAB into Al_(2)O_(3) whiskers pro-moted the formation of more uniformly mixed composite powders,compared to those of conventional ball milling via scanning electron micro-scopy(SEM)analysis.Meanwhile,the calculated results derived from first-principle calculations also demonstrated the stronger cohesion between Al_(2)O_(3) whisker reinforcements and Mg matrix than undecorated composite powders.After preparation by powder metallurgy,the mor-phology,grain size,hardness,and standard deviation coefficient of composites were analyzed to evaluate the dispersed efficiency.The results indicated that the modification of homogenized dispersed Al_(2)O_(3) whiskers in composites contributed to the refinement of 26%in grain size and the improvement of 20%in hardness compared with pure Mg,and the reduction of 32.5%in the standard deviation coefficient of hardness compared with the ball-milling sample.