State-of-the-art Review on Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites

The unceasing upgrading of techniques and processes to fabricate high purity carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the improvement of the available techniques to produce high performance matrix materials, have fostered the way to enhance composite materials and their properties, either mechanical, thermal, electrical or magnetic. CNTs reinforcements have been introduced into polymers, ceramics, cement-based materials and metals. Po ly mers were the first material to be explo ited as matrix material being reinforced by CNTs. Up to now other materials have tentatively been investigated for that purpose, including metals. Today, many applications of CNT reinforced co mposites exist but CNT reinfo rced metals are still scarce and only found in very specific applications. Several reasons can be identified but the still gro wing demand for lighter and stronger metals paved the way to more fundamental research on the topic of CNT reinforced metal matrix co mposites (MMCs). Th is review describes the state-of-the art in this field and highlights the excellent and promising mechanical, thermal, electrical properties of CNT reinforced MM Cs.