Fracture toughness of graphene/aluminum nanolaminated composites

The fracture toughness of nanolaminated graphene/aluminum composites with tensile strength exceeding 300 MPa was examined. Fracture toughness values exceeding 20 MPa root m were found with negligible anisotropy for two cracking orientations, which is comparable to commercially pure aluminum with much lower tensile strength. The bioinspired nanolaminated metal matrix composite approach breaks the strength-toughness trade-off for pure aluminum by promoting toughening by crack blunting, deflection, and bifurcation.