Magnesium nanocomposites reinforced with rare earth element nanoparticles: nanoindentation-driven response

Abstract Magnesium (Mg), as the lightest metallic material, is 33% lighter than aluminum which makes it, potentially, a great replacement for aluminum and its alloys. However, Mg in pure and alloyed conditions is brittle at ambient temperature which largely limits their applications. One key solution to enhance the strength and ductility of Mg and its alloys is to embed thermally-stable nano-size reinforcements within the Mg matrix to produce so-called “Mg nanocomposites”. The Mg nanocomposites are considering revolutionizing energy-saving lightweight materials of the future with enhanced strength and ductility properties. Mg nanocomposites are, however, at the initial degrees of improvement and consequently, systematic research is required to set up microstructure/property relationships at distinct potential conditions (i.e. temperatures and strain rates). In the present study, a nanoindentation testing approach is adopted to assess ambient-temperature small scale mechanical properties of a group of Mg nanocomposites reinforced with rare-earth element nanoparticles (NPs), i.e. Sm2O3. This paper tried to assess various nanoindentation-driven properties of the Mg-Sm2O3 nanocomposites and compare them with the pure Mg as the baseline. Graphical Abstract