Microstructure and corrosion resistance of solution treated A380-GNPs composites.

The effects of different solution temperatures on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced A380 (A380-GNPs) composites were investigated. The results show that the grain size of the composites was significantly refined by adding 0.9 wt% GNPs, and most of the Si phases in the A380-0.9 GNPs composite after solution treatment at 505 °C were spheroidal. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis indicated that most of the Al2Cu phases have been dissolved into the matrix. The hardness of the 505 °C solution treated composites increased by 28.8% compared to the A380-0.9 GNPs composites. Immersion corrosion tests revealed that the corrosion rate of the 505 °C solution-treated A380-0.9 GNPs composites (46.76 μg cm−2 d−1) was 24.9% lower than that of the non-solution-treated (58.41 μg cm−2 d−1). Electrochemical analyses showed that the corrosion voltage of the 505 °C solution-treated composites (− 507.41 mV) was 7.4% higher than that of the non-solution-treated (− 548.76 mV). The 505 °C solution-treated A380-0.9 GNPs composites had a high surface-area ratio between the anodic phases (α-Al) and the cathodic phases (Al2Cu, Si), and the anodic corrosion current densities were relatively weak, which resulted in the best corrosion resistance. The refinement and uniform distribution of cathodic phases, such as Al2Cu and eutectic Si, inhibit the occurrence of micro-galvanic corrosion and also reduce the corrosion rate of the composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]