Mechanical Properties of Ni-Coated Single Graphene Sheet and Their Embedded Aluminum Matrix Composites

The effects of Ni coating on the mechanical behaviors of single graphene sheet and their embedded Al matrix composites under axial tensionare investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method. Theresults show that the Young's moduli and tensile strength of grapheneobviously decrease after Ni coating. The results also show that the mechanical properties of Al matrix can be obviously increased by embedding asingle graphene sheet. From the simulation, we also find that the Young'smodulus and tensile strength of the Ni-coated graphene/Al composite isobviously larger than those of the uncoated graphene/Al composite. Theincreased magnitude of the Young's modulus and tensile strength ofgraphene/Al composite are 52.27 and 32.32 at 0.01 K, respectively,due to Ni coating. By exploring the effects of temperature on the mechanicalproperties of single graphene sheet and their embedded Al matrix composites, it is found that the higher temperature leads to the lower critical strain and tensile strength.