Bulk nanolaminated graphene (reduced graphene oxide)–aluminum composite tolerant of radiation damage

Abstract Nanolayered metals are shown to have significantly improved radiation resistance, owing to the copious interplay between their densely populated internal boundaries with irradiation-induced defects. Therefore, they have become promising candidates for structural applications in advanced nuclear reactors. Here we fabricated bulk nanolaminated graphene (in the form of reduced graphene oxide)-aluminum composite, and explored their structural and property evolution under high energy helium irradiation. We carefully designed and implemented the micro-/nano-mechanical test, so that the mechanical behavior of small scale specimens resembled that of the bulk. Compared to the unreinforced matrix, the graphene–aluminum composite showed substantially lower irradiation-induced strengthening magnitude, a considerable total elongation, smaller lattice swelling, and a completely different deformation mechanism after irradiation. A combination of detailed experimental observations and large-scale atomistic simulations indicated that both remarkable irradiation resistance and distinct mechanism of graphene–aluminum composite are related to the excellent sink strength of the graphene layers for irradiation-generated defects. This study offers a novel and effective strategy to produce scalable radiation damage-tolerant bulk metal matrix composite with meticulously tailored microstructures.