Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced metallic composites have been recently gaining a significant amount of scientific interest. The promise of transmitting part of the remarkable and outstanding properties of CNTs to metals has spurred efforts to design and manufacture metallic composites reinforced with CNTs. Out of the metallic matrices investigated, Al has received significant attention. The stability of these powders at high temperatures is important to investigate, since they would ultimately be consolidated at elevated temperatures into useful products, and service temperature limits will be important. In this article, we discuss the detailed characterization of SPEX milled Al-CNT powders (well-dispersed CNTs in an Al matrix at 2.5 and 5.0 wt% loading), their heat treatment and consolidation using spark plasma sintering.

This brief review discusses principles and some latest developments in electrically activated combustion synthesis. Processes discussed include field-activated combustion synthesis (FACS), field-activated pressure-assisted synthesis (FAPAS), reactive spark plasma sintering (R-SPS), electrothermal explosion (ETE), and electrostatic-field-activated combustion synthesis (EFACS). These processes have demonstrated clear benefits to the process of combustion synthesis through the application of electric field. Although a significant amount of works have been published in the area, there still remain some directions within the field where sustained research may provide even more scientific reward.