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Nacre-inspired laminated composites have been proven to possess a unique combination of strength and toughness. In this study, we fabricated nacre-mimetic Cu/TiC composites via unidirectional freezing of aqueous TiC slurries containing different amounts of NiO additives, followed by ice sublimation, carbothermal reduction of NiO to Ni during sintering and then gas-pressure infiltration of the Cu melt. The introduction of Ni greatly facilitated the densification of ceramic lamellae and enhanced the interfacial bonding between Cu and TiC. The resultant composites displayed outstanding damage tolerance and anisotropic electrical conductivities. Specifically, for an ∼31 vol% TiC–Cu composite containing 24 wt% Ni in the ceramic lamellae (based on the TiC content), a fracture toughness (K Jc) of 72.5 ± 1.0 MPa·m1/2, work of fracture of 53.4 ± 3.5 kJ/m2, bending strength of 725 ± 11 MPa and longitudinal electrical conductivity of 22.7 MS/m (∼60% of the Cu matrix) were achieved, which were approx. 81%, 536%, 122% and 97% higher than those of the Ni-free composite, respectively. Noticeable toughening was demonstrated to be a consequence of multiple cracking, plastic deformation and uncracked-ligament bridging of the metal layers, as well as crack deflection and blunting. On the other hand, significant strengthening resulted from tailoring the microstructures in the ceramic layers and at the Cu/TiC interface as a result of Ni doping. We believe that the facile strategy adopted herein provides an effective way to solve the problems of wetting and bonding related to metal infiltration and can be readily extended to the preparation of other nacre-inspired metal−ceramic composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nacre-like magnesium matrix composite with high carbon nanotube (CNT) contents (up to 4.40 wt%) was successfully prepared under the combined effects of bidirectional freeze casting, pressureless infiltration, and hot pressing. The bidirectional freeze casting was carried out to fabricate large-scale parallelly layered CNT scaffolds. The spontaneous infiltration of an AZ91 magnesium alloy was achieved using nano-silica as the wetting promoter, and MgO and Mg 2 Si (reaction products) provided the strength of the as-synthesized composites. Furthermore, the hot pressing increased the average thickness ratio of reinforcing phase/alloy layers in the AZ91/CNT composites from 0.89 (before hot pressing) to 1.46 (after hot pressing) and also significantly improved the specific strength from 142.3 MPa/(g⋅cm−3) to 158.7 MPa/(g⋅cm−3) without sacrificing the specific toughness ((17–18) MPa⋅m1/2/(g⋅cm−3)). The resultant composites were mainly strengthened by CNTs, reaction products, and the strong interfacial bonding between CNTs and the Mg matrix. The key toughening mechanisms for the as-prepared composites were crack deflection, branching, and CNT pull-out. This study provides a new idea for the economical and efficient preparation of lightweight and damage-tolerant composites with high CNT contents. Image 1091852 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]