Mechanical damping behavior of Al/C₆₀-fullerene composites with supersaturated Al-C phases

Al-based materials with enhanced mechanical damping properties are of great interest in aerospace and automotive industries as engineering materials for critical components that suffer from severe dynamic environment. In this report, we developed Al/C₆₀-fullerene composites to increase damping capacity by the supersaturated Al-C phases. Carbon atoms, dissolved from individually dispersed C₆₀-fullerenes, are intercalated into the Al interstitial sites, producing Al-C phases with expanded lattice structures. These novel nanostructures exhibit a superior mechanical damping behavior compared to monolithic Al, throughout the temperature range of room temperature to 350 °C. The present approach to control the lattice structure thus represents a new engineering paradigm for atomic-level design of lightweight structural components.