A Comprehensive Evaluation of Electrochemical Performance of Aluminum Hybrid Nanocomposites Reinforced with Alumina (Al₂O₃) and Graphene Oxide (GO)

The electrochemical performance of in-house developed, spark plasma-sintered, Aluminum metal–matrix composites (MMCs) was evaluated using different electrochemical techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra were used to characterize the nanocomposites along with FE-SEM and EDS for morphological, structural, and elemental analysis, respectively. The highest charge transfer resistance (R_ct), lowest corrosion current density, lowest electrochemical potential noise (EPN), and electrochemical current noise (ECN) were observed for GO-reinforced Al-MMC. The addition of honeycomb-like structure in the Al matrix assisted in blocking the diffusion of Cl⁻ or SO₄⁻². However, poor wettability in between Al matrix and Al₂O₃ reinforcement resulted in the formation of porous interface regions, leading to a degradation in the corrosion resistance of the composite. Post-corrosion surface analysis by optical profilometer indicated that, unlike its counterparts, the lowest surface roughness (Ra) was provided by GO-reinforced MMC.