Surface-mediated Al particles are synthesized by incorporating the stable fluoride reaction of Al-F on a pure Al surface in place of natural oxides. Al particles with fluoro-polymer directly adsorbed on the surface show a considerable capability to overcome limitations caused by the surface oxide. Here, we report that Al fluoride when spontaneously formed at the poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Al interface serves as an oxidation-protecting layer while also providing an efficient combustion path along which the internal Al rapidly reacts with external oxygen atoms. Both thermal oxidation and explosion tests of the poly(vinylidene fluoride)/Al particles show superior exothermic enthalpy energy and simultaneously rapid oxidation reactivity compared to those of Al₂O₃ passivated Al particles. It is clearly elucidated that the enhanced energetic properties of Al particles mediated by poly(vinylidene fluoride) originate from the extraordinary pyrolytic process of Al fluoride occurring at a low temperature compared to Al₂O₃ passivated Al. Hence, these results clarify that the surface mediation of Al particles can be significantly considered as advanced technology for many energetic applications.

Aluminium–copper composite materials were successfully fabricated using spark plasma sintering with Al and Cu powders as the raw materials. Al–Cu composite powders were fabricated through a ball milling process, and the effect of the Cu content was investigated. Composite materials composed of Al–20Cu, Al–50Cu, and Al–80Cu (vol.%) were sintered by a spark plasma sintering process, which was carried out at 520 °C and 50 MPa for 5 min. The phase analysis of the composite materials by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) indicated that intermetallic compounds (IC) such as CuAl₂ and Cu₉Al₄ were formed through reactions between Cu and Al during the spark plasma sintering process. The mechanical properties of the composites were analysed using a Vickers hardness tester. The Al–50Cu composite had a hardness of approximately 151 HV, which is higher than that of the other composites. The thermal conductivity of the composite materials was measured by laser flash analysis, and the highest value was obtained for the Al–80Cu composite material. This suggests that the Cu content affects physical properties of the Al–Cu composite material as well as the amount of intermetallic compounds formed in the composite material.