Powder-engineered high-strength, high-conductivity MXene/Al matrix composites

This study proposes a powder-engineering strategy to overcome the longstanding trade-off between electrical conductivity and mechanical performance in Al matrix composites (AMCs). Few-layer MXene nanosheets were selectively assembled along the primary boundaries of trace Mg-doped AlSi alloy powders via heteroagglomeration, followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS), generating a continuous three-dimensional conductive network. Microstructural characterization revealed that Mg actively interacted with the oxygen-containing functional groups on the accordion-like MXene surfaces and within their expanded interlayers during SPS. Consequently, the MXene/AlSiMg composites achieved simultaneous improvements in tensile strength and electrical conductivity, which were attributed to robust MXene–Al interfacial integration and the enhanced intrinsic electrical transport of MXene. Overall, this study demonstrated that synergistic powder design and interface engineering provide an effective pathway for developing high-performance AMCs.