Synthesis and characterization of Al-Zn/Al2O3 nano-powder composites

Composites consisting of Al-Zn/Al2O3 have been synthesized using high energy mechanical milling. High energy ball milling increases the sintering rate of the composite powder due to increased diffusion rate. Owing to the finer microstructure, the hardness of the sintered composite produced by using the mechanically milled nanocomposite powder is significantly higher than that of the sintered composite produced by using the as-mixed powder. The mean crystallite size of the matrix has been determined to be 27 nm by Scherrer equation using X-ray diffraction data. The powders have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The effect of high-energy ball milling and subsequent annealing on a mixture of Al and ZnO has also been investigated. DTA result show that the reaction temperature of Al-ZnO decreases with the increase in the ball milling time.